Nations Championship – England v Argentina: A one-sided rugby contest – Will the Pumas bounce back? | Rugby Union News

Fresh from Wednesday’s FIFA World Cup semi-final drama between England and Argentina, the nations meet again on Saturday in Santiago del Estero as part of Rugby’s Nations Championship.

While the history of England vs Argentina in football has been punctuated by great moments and huge victories for both sides, the rugby history between the English and the Pumas is rather different.

Before meeting on Argentine soil this Saturday, the two teams have met in 30 Tests dating back to 1981 and England’s dominance is close at hand.

The record reads 24 England wins, five Argentina wins and one draw.

The Pumas have grown steadily as a team over the decades, sensationally reaching the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup in 2015, and picking up marquee wins over New Zealand in 2020, 2022, 2024 and 2025, and wins over South Africa in 2015, 2015, 2016 and 2014-2014. They have beaten Australia four times since 2022.

Yet, for all Argentina’s impressive success on the world stage, England continue to prove something of a bogey team.

The teams have met five times at the World Cup, and England have won each meeting: pool stage wins in 1995, 2011, 2019 and 2023, and a third-place play-off in 2023. Only Argentina will know how they lost.

England visited Argentina in 2025, 2017 and 2013 while missing selected British and Irish Lions players in the same summer, and even still won each series 2–0, winning all six Tests.

Argentina have won on home soil in 1990, 1997 and 2009 and at Twickenham in 2006 and 2022, but success has been rare.

In fact, England have won five matches in a row and 15 of the last 16 Tests between the teams.

In 14 meetings in Argentina, England won 10 and Argentina three, with one draw in 1981. In England, the hosts have won nine of 11 Tests to Argentina’s two wins.

So, will this 2026 Test be the occasion that Argentina put their best foot forward against England?

With ill-fated, narrow defeats to powerhouse South Africa in October and stirring wins over Wales and Scotland in November – the latter winning by 21 points with 24 minutes to play – Argentina’s recent performances have not been good.

They were comprehensively beaten 47-38 by Scotland at home in Córdoba two weeks ago, while they sent 21 points to a Wales side who have struggled to win in recent years in a 35-21 win in San Juan last week.

England were on a five-Test losing streak before a big win over 14-man Fiji last weekend, following a brutal fifth-place finish in the Six Nations and a stunning loss to South Africa a fortnight ago, but their tails are now up.

Amongst everything else, there’s also the small matter of context surrounding November’s England v Argentina meeting to factor into Saturday.

Argentina head coach Felipe Contepomi The England flanker has branded Tom Curry a “bully” and claimed he was “dazzled”. By the player in the tunnel after England’s 27-23 win that day.

Nothing more came of the spicy incident, but you can be sure that Argentina and Contepomi have not been forgotten.

Freeman: We expect an ‘angry’ atmosphere in Argentina and a Pumas side

England’s squad and set-up, who were based in Buenos Aires until Thursday before heading north to Santiago del Estero, have decided not to wear the national shirt when in Argentina in light of the tension surrounding Wednesday’s match.

Wing Tommy Freeman, speaking to the media this week, added that he expected a more raucous atmosphere and opposition than is customary for the England rugby team in South America.

“We’ll see how hostile it is here,” Freeman said. “It’s big for Argentina and for us and it’s grown a lot by coming here.

“I think they’ll probably be angry, so Saturday could be a tough game.

“We know they are a passionate country. We are too and they will want to compete to the fullest and we will be ready for that.”

England second-row Alex Coles added: “I think, given where we are and who we’re playing, we’ve been pretty smart about not wearing our England shirts too much.”

Peppers: Pumas fans have a football-mob mentality but we can ‘shut them up’

England back-row Guy Pepper was also speaking to the media earlier this week, and admitted he expected a football-crowd-type energy boost for the Test, backing his teammates to “shut up” the locals.

Pepper has previously played two Tests for Argentina, making his Test debut in La Plata and San Juan last year. The 23-year-old, who came on as a substitute in both matches, said he could sense and feel the passion the Argentina fans brought.

“It was very football-crowd mentality, which was great and different to experience,” Pepper said.

“It was noisy, but you were also able to outscore them and shut them down. It was a real rollercoaster of emotions.

“Being on the bench for two games, you can take the fact that they’re all chanting and jumping around one minute and then you hear a pin drop the next.

“On reflection, the 2025 tour to Argentina was quite significant for this team, especially with the Lions boys away.

“It was a great and special moment for us, an important step in breeding new young players and allowing them to make a name for themselves and keep the jersey. It was a very special tour and something that will only make us stronger.

“Since that tour we’ve really tried to increase the way we attack games, so we can play through teams and play around them. It’s exciting where we’re going.”