Nations Championship – round three

Argentina (3) 24

Tries: Carreras, penalty try, Piccardo Cons: Albornoz 2 Pen: Albornoz

England (19) 31

Tries: Freeman, Earl 2, M Smith, Feyi-Waboso Cons: F Smith 3

England held on to beat Argentina in a chaotic match in the Nations Championship after the hosts had a last-gasp try controversially ruled out in Santiago del Estero.

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With 13-man England leading 31-24, Argentina wing Bautista Delguy scored in the corner with the final play – leaving a difficult conversion to secure a draw.

Referee Angus Gardner had awarded the try on field, but television match official Brett Cronan insisted Delguy was in touch.

While Gardner repeatedly suggested there was no clear evidence to overturn his original on-field call, the try was eventually chalked off.

Henry Slade’s covering tackle on Delguy proved to be the decisive moment, with Gardner surrounded by frustrated Argentina players at full-time.

The late officiating decision in the visitors’ favour came just three days after England’s football team suffered a heart-breaking defeat by Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals.

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A combined seven yellow cards were shown in Saturday’s action-packed thriller, with England receiving four in the second half and twice being down to 13 players.

Steve Borthwick’s side looked set for back-to-back Nations Championship wins after Tommy Freeman’s try and two scores from Ben Earl gave them a 16-point half-time lead.

The Pumas, who wore replicas of the football team’s 1986 World Cup kit for the match, scored next before taking advantage of two England yellow cards, but their own ill-discipline prevented them punishing the visitors further.

Marcus Smith’s try in the corner came with number eight Joaquin Oviedo in the sin-bin, before Santiago Carreras joined his team-mate on the sidelines for 10 minutes.

An individual try from Immanuel Feyi-Waboso then silenced the passionate home crowd.

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However, England replacements Henry Pollock and Emmanuel Iyogun were next to be sent to the sin-bin, making for a nervy finish.

Justo Piccardo’s late try and Argentina’s subsequent break had 13-man England scrambling, only for a combination of Noah Caluori and Slade to do just enough to deny Delguy in the final play.

Having gained the backing of the Rugby Football Union after just one win in this year’s Six Nations – England’s worst performance since the tournament’s expansion from the Five Nations in 2000 – this summer’s fixtures were pivotal for Borthwick’s future.

Discipline was one area the RFU wanted to see improvement in, with England now up to 14 yellows and one red card shown in the past eight matches.

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A tough defeat at Ellis Park against world champion South Africa was expected, but wins over Fiji and Argentina have set England up well for November’s Nations Championship games.

1986 World Cup shirts fire up England

Kitted out in a striped jersey reminiscent of the ‘lucky’ navy blue shirt Argentina wore to win the 1986 World Cup, Felipe Contepomi’s side immediately added extra spice to the meeting by donning colours synonymous with one of the country’s most famous victories over England.

That ploy failed to cause any disruption as Fin Smith’s pinpoint cross-field kick was brilliantly gathered and finished by Freeman, but the Pumas were awarded a penalty from the restart after Ollie Chessum rushed in to join a scuffle.

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England coupled an impressive scramble defence with the attacking threat of Feyi-Waboso, who repeatedly punched holes in attack.

Another electric break by the Exeter Chiefs winger set up Earl’s try before the hosts’ problems were compounded as Mateo Carreras was shown a yellow card for a high tackle on Freeman.

Borthwick’s side ended a five-Test losing streak by scoring 73 points in a free-flowing attacking display against Fiji in Liverpool last Saturday.

After going close through more slick attacking play, England dismantled Argentina’s scrum, allowing Earl to dot down before another melee broke out during the celebrations.

Cards galore as Argentina fans boo Pollock

In November, Scotland’s 21-0 lead early in the second half was chased down for a stunning Argentina win.

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The belief of a comeback quickly gathered momentum as Carreras redeemed his earlier error and Jack van Poortvliet was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on.

Lock Alex Coles joined Van Poortvliet in the sin-bin for an illegal infringement at a ruck that saw a penalty try given as his hand stopped what looked a certain score.

For the second week running, Smith slotted in as an emergency scrum-half, with Pollock being summoned from the bench early in the second-half.

The 21-year-old was booed as he ran onto the pitch after footage emerged of the back row taunting local football fans in Plaza de la Republica, who were gathering for Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final.

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A yellow card for an illegal clearout by Oviedo reduced Argentina to 14, which was quickly followed by the return of Van Poortvliet.

Following an eruption of energy around the 30,000-capacity Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades, Pollock’s strong carry helped set up Smith’s try that silenced the bubbling crowd.

Another piece of cynical play in the build-up to the try saw Carreras sent to the sin-bin.

Two further silly yellow cards will frustrate Borthwick as it continues to become a growing area of concern.

This time it did not prove costly as England, just, held on.

Line-ups

Argentina: S Carreras; Delguy, Moroni, Piccardo, M Carreras; Albornoz, Garcia; Vivas, Montoya (capt), Rapetti, Petti, Alemanno, Grondona, Kremer, Oviedo.

Replacements: Ruiz, Wenger, Delgado, Elias, Matera, Moro, Benitez Cruz, Cinti.

England: M Smith; Freeman, Slade, Atkinson, Feyi-Waboso; F Smith, Van Poortvliet; Genge, George (capt), Heyes, Coles, Martin, Chessum, Pepper, Earl.

Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Iyogun, Kloska, Curry, Pollock, Spencer, Janse van Rensburg, Caluori.

Match officials

Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)

Assistant referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia) and Paul Williams (New Zealand)

TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)