Otley scrum half Andy Brown may be one of the old hands in the England Counties squad that has arrived in Argentina, but he is looking forward to the tour with all the enthusiasm of a fresh-faced new-comer.

Having spent more of last season at Cross Green on the bench understudying Dave Scully than he would have preferred, Brown went on the trip with an edge over many of his team-mates.

While they are just coming to the end of a tiring campaign, the National League One player is raring to go and is full of confidence in his

colleagues.

"I definitely feel I'm in the best shape I've been in for years and I'm looking forward to the tour more than ever," said Brown.

"Being on the bench so often means that I'll probably be

fitter than a lot of the lads and I can't wait to get into the action."

The same will also be true of Brown's rival for the No 9 shirt, Dave McCormack of Sedgley Park, who missed a large part of the 2004-05 season with a broken leg.

"Dave played really well for Lancashire in the Roses match and showed what a good player he is," says Brown.

"He was behind a winning pack. I was very disappointed to lose as we did and miss out on the trip to Twickenham, but the phone call telling me

I was picked in the Counties squad came the following day, which was a very nice consolation.

Brown has been on two previous tours with the Counties - in 2002 to Chile and to Romania and France the following year - so he knows the ropes.

And he isn't the only Otley player in the party, as clubmates Ed Thorpe and Glen Wilson have also been selected, while Wharfedale are represented by centre Chris Malherbe.

First up for the Counties is an Argentina XV at Santa Fe on Sunday, followed by a match against Rosario next Wednesday and an international against Uruguay in Montevideo a week on Satur-day.