Argentina v England: How rugby union is ‘booming’ in football-mad Argentina

Borthwick’s team, without the British and Irish Lions, sealed a series victory by winning twice in Argentina last summer and extended their winning run against the Pumas to five games.

They need to improve on their one-win record in their last 16 encounters with England if they want to regularly finish in the top four.

They won both matches against Scotland and South Africa at the Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades, which sees England play twice at the 30,000-capacity stadium that opens in 2021.

“It’s very close to Tucuman, which is a big rugby area. I would expect a proper rugby crowd,” the 48-year-old added.

“Hopefully if we give them a reason to shout and sing, Argentinians are Latino; we are loud and we like to support our teams. I hope it will be a loud crowd.”

The last meeting between the teams in November ended in a heated argument, with Contepomi calling England winger Tom Curry, who was on the bench for Saturday’s game, a “bully” who swore at him and pushed him into the tunnel at the Allianz Stadium.

The former 87-cap player described the match as one of the “great rivalries” for his side, but this was not due to any off-field controversy.

“Tom Curry is a world-class player. That’s all I can say,” Contepomi added.

“I apologize publicly if I said anything that hurt or offended him. But I have nothing against him.

“There was an incident in the heat of the moment, but I don’t take it personally and I don’t want to make anything personal with Tom because I’m sure he’s a great lad too.”

The country’s love affair with the sport could explode if Argentina puts forward its bid to host the 2035 Rugby World Cup.

More wins against England would also help.