England will think of South Africa, and the nightmare memory of their 2019 World Cup final loss to the Springboks, to sharpen their act ahead of an attempted series sweep over Argentina.
Jamie George, George Ford and Sam Underhill are survivors of the team which stunned New Zealand in the semi-finals in Japan six years ago, only to be demolished by the Boks a week later.
They will use the lessons learned from that seven-day turnaround to try to guard against any repeat in San Juan on Saturday, where the Pumas are bent on revenge after their 35-12 first Test beating.
Learnings from 2019
Co-captain George said: “Going again is not easy. It’s something I’ve found difficult throughout my career.
“I learned a huge amount about exactly that from the week between semi-final and final in 2019 because I stayed high throughout and was trying to convince myself I was completely fine.”
Many reasons have been put forward for the discrepancy between England’s two performances, ranging from arriving late at the final after getting stuck in traffic to inclement weather proving a leveller and, of course, the painfully early loss of prop Kyle Sinckler.
George’s testimony suggests the seven days before was every bit as influential and he is determined that this week the preparation is spot on.
He added: “My message before the game a week ago was that Argentina pride themselves on their emotion but you can’t tell me playing for their country is more important to them than playing for England is to us.
“We showed that in La Plata. Everything I asked of the team the boys went out and delivered. But that takes its toll, both physically and mentally.”
Coming down from success
With that in mind, England have altered their schedule, building in free periods and encouraging players to get out and about and not focus on the game until it is time to spike.
George said: “The message is make sure you have that come down. Bring it right down. Be honest with yourself, understand where you’re at. Do what you need to do to recover physically and mentally. We’ll then make sure we’re back up and it come Saturday.”
England, who targeted a 2-0 series sweep internally before leaving home, name their side on Thursday with one change enforced due to Henry Slade breaking his hand. Luke Northmore, Oscar Beard and Max Ojomoh are vying to take his place in midfield.
“This is an amazing opportunity to do something special,” said George. “Not many people have won Test series away from home.
“Steve talks about it a lot. Playing for England is one thing but winning for England is another. 2-0 was very much our intention when we got on the plane.
“It would be extra special given the circumstances around Lions’ selection and young squad, all that kind of thing.”