Changes favour more creative team

England, to a man, stood rock solid and if they stay the same at Twickenham tomorrow, then there wouldn't be much the Pumas can do about it.

Woodward admitted that he had underestimated the solidarity without which the players would never have won their 'point of principle'.

But win it they did by increasing their guaranteed income to £4,000 per player, per match, hardly a fortune considering their status as international athletes.

Two days after being advised that he, along with the rest, might have cast himself into the international wilderness, Balshaw learnt yesterday that a lot can happen in not much more than 24 hours. A place in the starting team had to be found for him as reward for setting up the winning try against the Wallabies and Woodward found it at full back, at the expense of one of his favourite players, Matt Perry.

Balshaw has not played at full back since Bath's European Cup tie at Swansea last year but he said: 'I'm not really bothered where I play in the back line, as long as I play. It's been a very anxious week. Everyone was worried about what the future might hold, from the oldest to the youngest.'

After being ordered by Woodward to leave the team's hotel on Tuesday, Balshaw went home to Bath. He set off again at 6.45 the next morning for the long drive back to the England hotel, via Wentworth Golf Club, where the players waited for the green light from the negotiators meeting at Twickenham. After all that, Bal-shaw will hope for something a little less traumatic tomorrow.

He said: 'The Argentines will see me as the new kid in the team and make sure I'm bombarded. They kick a lot anyway but you get bombed these days on the wing just the same.'

In confirming his arrival as an international in his own right rather than making up the numbers on the bench, the selection vindicates the wisdom of Balshaw's decision to pursue a career in rugby rather than cricket.

As an opening bowler for Lancashire schools, his contemporaries included a young giant from Preston who has also gone on to play at Test level, Andrew Flintoff.

Balshaw's exceptional talent would have demanded a first full appearance almost six months ago had he not been recovering from a groin operation when England set off for South Africa. 'I was gutted to miss that,' he said. 'It was devastating.'

Woodward's four other changes were all signposted, Ben Cohen on the right wing, Matt Dawson at scrum half, Julian White at tight-head and Mark Regan at hooker.

Austin Healey, surplus to requirements after being put through the mincer by Joe Roff last week, can be seen instead across the road from Twickenham at The Stoop, in Leicester's Premiership match against Harlequins tonight.

The changes among the backs reflect a need for increased creativity and Dawson's start puts him in the driving seat for yet another round of his duel with Kyran Bracken, now nearing the end of its sixth year. Woodward, who started with Bracken last week but replaced him with Dawson early in the second half, said: 'I was always going to play Matt this week. The big call between the two will be over next week's match against South Africa.'

Regan starts his first international for almost three years, Phil Greening paying the inevitable price for conceding too many penalties and too many throws. While he is officially injured, Leicester hooker Dorian West jumps back into the England reckoning at the age of 33.

Jason Leonard will lead the team out on the occasion of his record-breaking 86th cap which arrives with a most convenient sense of timing.

Even if some of the public are less than ecstatic at the events of this week, they will not sour the reception for the game's most popular East Ender as he passes Rory Underwood's landmark.