England move Buenos Aires base to avoid potential World Cup party

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Steve Borthwick's side have been forced into a late change in a three-week intinerary that has taken them from Johannesburg to Liverpool to Buenos Aires and beyond By Mike Henson BBC Sport rugby union news reporter Published 13 minutes ago England's rugby players have switched hotels in Buenos Aires to avoid their return home being wrecked by World Cup celebrations should Argentina's football team beat Spain in Sunday's final. Steve Borthwick's team play Argentina in their final match of the summer on Saturday (20:10 BST) in Santiago del Estero, 600 miles north-west of the capital. But they will return to Buenos Aires on Sunday, before their flight home to London on Monday. The team have been staying in a hotel off Plaza de la Republica – the square which, with the city's famous Obelisk monument at its centre, has attracted huge crowds in the aftermath of Argentina's World Cup matches. An estimated five million people took to the city's streets to celebrate the team's World Cup victory in Qatar four years ago, and thousands partied deep into the night on Wednesday to mark a 2-1 semi-final win over England. Image source, Getty Images Image caption, The square outside England's team hotel was a focal point for celebrations after Argentina's win in football's World Cup semi-finals Borthwick's side, who watched the game in a conference room in their hotel, will now instead stay in a hotel near Buenos Aires international airport on the southern outskirts on Sunday night. "I wouldn't suggest that everybody got a great night's sleep last night – there were still fireworks going off at 4am this morning," Borthwick said. "Most of us were on the other side of the hotel and earplugs were issued to everybody, so we were prepared. "I went up to the hotel terrace that overlooks the street fairly late and there were still a load of players just watching it and just taking it in. People jumping up and down for hours in the streets. Fireworks going off. It was something to see. "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." England flanker Henry Pollock added to the decibels in the hours before Wednesday's match, with footage emerging of the 21-year-old back row taunting local football fans gathering for the match in Plaza de la Republica. The incident took place at England returned from a training session to their hotel on a bus. Footage showed Pollock goading fans from the upper windows, giving them a thumbs down, sticking out his tongue and waving and shushing. Argentina fans responded with gestures of their own, with one punching the bus windows. "Henry's full of character," Borthwick said. "We want character in our game and we want character in our squad. "This squad really embraces what he brings. It takes all kinds of different personalities and we've got some players who wouldn't do that and then you've got Henr