Ben Earl has called for a rethink of the Nations Championship format following England’s brutal itinerary that featured three Tests in three continents on successive weekends.

Steve Borthwick's team ended their 25,000‑mile July tour with a victory over Argentina on Saturday, and their two wins offer sight of a place in the inaugural competition's final at Allianz Stadium on November 29. The win over the Pumas in Santiago del Estero was sealed despite sleep‑deprived players being limited to a reduced training schedule to recover from the travel, while the time difference was also a hurdle to overcome. The Australians were held to a 13‑man England squad, a testament to the challenge.

The itinerary – the toughest faced by any nation this month – was especially challenging for England's British and Irish Lions stars such as Earl, Ellis Genge and Ollie Chessum who faced Australia last summer. Having taken four long‑haul and four short‑haul flights in just under four weeks, the amount of travel has been a point of discussion within the squad.

Earl said, "It's been brutal, there's no two ways about it. We've been speaking about it – why would we not all be playing in one country?…" He added that the back‑and‑forth schedule will have to be endured as the tournament progresses.