'That’s our standard now': England raise the bar despite lacking Lions

Joe Heyes admitted England have set a high bar after largely nullifying Argentina’s attacking threat over the weekend.

Despite the absence of 13 players who are on the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, England started their summer schedule with an impressive 35-12 win over the Pumas in La Plata on Saturday.

They managed to keep Argentina at bay when they were down to 13 men at one point, with Alex Coles and debutant Seb Atkinson sin-binned, and restricted the hosts to just two tries as England ran in five.

“Everyone stepped up really well and the defence was something that we could be really, really proud of,” Leicester tighthead Heyes told BBC Sport. “That’s our standard now.”

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But Heyes expects Argentina, who defeated the Lions 28-24 in Dublin just over a fortnight ago, to come back even stronger in Saturday’s second and final Test at the Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario.

“I am fully, fully expecting a massive response from Argentina,” he added.

“The only thing we can do is make sure we’re in the right spot to do the same as we did last Saturday. We’re ready for it.

“If we do go on and have the success we want to have on this tour, then I think some of the memories we’ll make for everyone – especially these younger guys – will stay with us forever.”