Delon Armitage said he was “speechless” after being called up to replace Mark Cueto on the left wing for England against Argentina on Saturday.
Cueto has been ruled out of the opening game, which England are 1/6 to win with bookmaker, with a back problem aggravated in the warm-up game against Ireland.
“Mark’s had a little bit (of back trouble) before but he could have played (against Argentina),” said England manager Martin Johnson.
“He trained fully all week but he’s not quite where he needs to be – but the good thing for us is Delon is playing very well.”
Armitage was overjoyed to return to the starting line-up after being dropped after last year’s Six Nations tournament, and has been impressive recently, scoring a try against Ireland.
“I didn’t even think I’d be over here so it’s a massive turnaround. If you do the hard work, the right things, sometimes you get your rewards,” said the London Irish full-back.