LUKE Cowan-Dickie is bracing himself for another bruising, crunching confrontation with Argentina admitting he feared his Autumn Test chances had had been left in “dust” on the Sandy Park pitch last month.
The hooker had all but resigned himself to being an onlooker when he was left in pain following a hefty hit from England pal Mako Vunipola during a Premiership clash.
But Cowan-Dickie was relieved to hear the knee injury was not bad enough to rule him out of the four Twickenham battles which start today with the visit of Argentina.
And the forward is relishing the chance to continue proving he deserves to wear the No.2 jersey with the World Cup in France next year drawing ever closer.
The Exeter player recalls: “I thought I was dust at the time! Just before half-time against Sarries, Mako came and got me. I felt a little crunch and heard a pop. I got up and played on but decided at half-time not to risk it any further just in case I made the injury worse.
“I've been in the camp quite a while now and want to prove I deserve my place in the squad. Fortunately, I've been lucky with injuries.
“It's a huge year ahead and you hope to be available for selection for as many games as you can.”
On the contest with the Pumas he insists: “They are going to be a step up to when we last played them. They have come so much further. They used to be physical and pretty much one-dimensional with their ball carriers and setpiece which was bang on. But now they pretty much have everything. They beat the All Blacks in their own back yard which is fair play to them.
“They are going to bring something different to what we are used to but we have spent a good bit of time on our scrum and maul which is still their go to.
“I've played with a couple of Argentinians at Exeter. Both are different. Facundo (Cordero) is pretty wild and as stupid as I am. Then there's Santi (Grondona) who is pretty switched off and quiet but very knowledgeable rugby wise. I think their forward pack is a bit more fiery than their backs.”
Cowan-Dickie is also excited about the addition of Northampton's 6ft 7in lock Alex Coles to the England pack, giving him another huge target to aim for at line-outs. He says: “Having a three line-out option certainly helps you out as a thrower. We are lucky to have a few second-back row players as options. For me it's mint. But they are quite heavy too and having these big locks behind you in the scrum is nice.”
Eddie Jones, always keen to enlist the thinking and experiences of other leading sports people to aid his players' development, brought in England cricketer Jonny Bairstow in the build up the Pumas battle. Bairstow is currently recovering from the broken leg and dislocated ankle whilst playing golf which ruled him out of T20 World Cup. And Jones insists: “He was fantastic…a big rugby fan, No.10! He had the boys enthralled for an hour. He loves his sport and is a dedicated sportsman.”
