England arrived in Argentina for Saturday's Nations Championship clash with Los Pumas to find a country consumed by football. Argentina's national side beat Thomas Tuchel's England 2-1 in Wednesday's FIFA World Cup semi-final, and with a final against Spain still to come, Buenos Aires has barely slept.
Steve Borthwick's squad had been based near the Obelisk on Plaza de la Republica, the epicentre of the celebrations, before relocating to a quieter hotel closer to the airport. The head coach saw the funny side.
"I wouldn't suggest that everybody got a great night's sleep last night - there were still fireworks going off at 4 a.m.," Borthwick said.
He refused to treat the disruption as a grievance. "We'd obviously all wanted England to win but one of the experiences of touring is seeing a spectacle like that in a different part of the world," he added.
The rugby carries its own tension. England will play the Test itself in Santiago del Estero, at the Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades, where a passionate home crowd awaits. Winger Tommy Freeman is bracing for a hostile reception.
"We'll see how hostile it gets here. It's big for Argentina and us and being here it's heightened massively," Freeman said. "I think they'll probably be angry, so Saturday could be a tough game."
Lock Alex Coles said the squad had been careful about how they carried themselves in a city awash with Argentine flags. "I think, bearing in mind where we are and who we're playing with, we've been pretty sensible about not wearing our English shirts around too much," he said.
The players have already tasted a football-style atmosphere earlier in the campaign. Back-rower Guy Pepper described the noise as "very much football-crowd type mentality out there, which was cool to experience and different." He added: "It was noisy, but you were also able to shut them up by outscoring them."
History sits firmly with the visitors. England lead the all-time series 24-5 with one draw across 30 Tests, have won the last five meetings and 15 of the last 16, and have never lost to Argentina at a World Cup. Even on Argentine soil, England hold a 10-3 edge with one draw.
Borthwick has named an unchanged XV, with Jamie George captaining the side and Henry Pollock retained on the bench despite a hat-trick in the rout of Fiji. Pollock's animated gestures towards home fans have drawn attention this week, but his coach was unbothered.
"Henry's full of character. We want character in our game and we want character in our squad," Borthwick said. "This squad really embraces what he brings. We embrace it. I think it was done in good nature."
For all the noise off the field, England go in as narrow favourites - Planet Rugby tips a three-point win - and Borthwick is embracing the occasion. "We expect a fantastic atmosphere with passionate home support," he said. "It promises to be a great occasion, and one the players are excited to embrace.".
