Argentina 24-31 England: 13-man England seal tight Nations Championship win as late TMO plays | Rugby Union News

England’s rugby players avenged their World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina with a chaotic, scrappy 31-24 Nations Championship victory that went down to the wire in Santiago del Estero.

Steve Borthwick’s side recorded a sixth consecutive win on Argentine soil to find consolation three days after heartbreak at the hands of Lionel Messi and his colleagues in Atlanta.

England received a hostile reception at the Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades, where Argentina players wore replica shirts inspired by Diego Maradona’s iconic 1986 World Cup kit and fans unfurled Falklands-themed banners in the stands.

England wanted to have their say on the pitch, with Tommy Freeman’s early try and a Ben Earle double silencing the partisan home crowd and securing a 16-point half-time lead.

Argentina, who had been reduced to a one-sided first-half clash, roared back after the break, reducing the deficit to two with a Mateo Carreras score and a penalty try, and England reduced to 13 men after Jack van Portvliet joined Alex Coles in the sin-bin.

Marcus Smith’s score in the corner and Emmanuel Faye-Waboso’s stunning solo finish saved England from costly discipline, only for Henry Pollock and Emmanuel Yogun to see out the game with 13 men for further yellow cards.

Justo Picardo’s 80th-minute score led Argentina to a converted attempt to salvage an unlikely draw, which looked secure when Bautista Delgui crossed on the red with four minutes on the clock.

But a dramatic TMO intervention, which ruled out Delguy in contact, came to England’s rescue in the final act of a Test match that was as absorbing as it was bonkers.

England’s second win at the inaugural Nations Championship saw them move up to third in the Northern Hemisphere table after the summer series but could pay a price due to an injury to center Benhard Janse van Rensburg.

Within four minutes, England pushed forward. Finn Smith found Northampton team-mate Freeman with a pinpoint cross-field kick as the visitors claimed the first score, sparking the first melee between the teams.

The effort stood up, but Argentina were awarded a penalty from the restart after Ollie Chesham was challenged. This sparked a steady spell of pressure from the hosts, which England fended off handily without conceding a point.

England extended their lead midway through the half as Faye-Waboso burst through the Argentine defense before offloading to Earle to apply the finishing touch.

A penalty from the boot of Tomas Albornoz finally got Argentina on the board on the half-hour mark, but England hit back immediately, with Earl getting a second as England wiped out the Pumas pack from a five-metre scrum.

England led by 16 at the break, but Argentina’s second-half response was strong and swift, with wing Mateo Carreras pouncing alongside the forwards within three minutes of the restart.

Van Portvliet’s sin-binning for a deliberate knock-on was compounded by another for Lock Coles, whose try-scoring chance was denied by Argentina for a penalty try.

The indiscipline proved contagious, with Joaquin Oviedo sent to the bin for a dangerous clear-out on Guy Pepper, changing the momentum in England’s favour.

Marcus Smith’s score through the defense and Faye-Waboso’s waltz finished off Argentina for once, but defeats by Pollock and debutant Yogun produced the most excitement of the end, which England somehow survived after Delgui was disallowed by the TMO following Picardo’s lifeline score.

‘Discipline makes it hard to win’

Man of the match – Emmanuel Faye-Waboso – said after the match:

“A hard-fought match, until the end. To end it like that, it was very dramatic.

“Argentina, their passion, the fans, the atmosphere was amazing.

“Obviously, the discipline wasn’t great from us, but we managed to see the win in the end.

“Our discipline makes it very difficult to win.”

England Nations Championship results