England hold off brave fightback from spirited Argentina to clinch 11th successive victory
England centre Max Ojomoh launches an attack against Argentina.
England continued with their fine recent form when they clinched a hard-fought 27-23 triumph over Argentina in their Autumn Nations Series Test at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, on Sunday.
The Red Rose were full value for their win as they outscored Los Pumas three tries to two with Max Ojomoh, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Henry Slade crossing the whitewash for the hosts.
Their other points came via the boot of George Ford, who finished with a 12-point contribution courtesy of three conversions, a penalty and a drop goal.
For Los Pumas, Justo Piccardo and Rodrigo Isgro dotted down, with Tomás Albornoz adding a couple of penalties and a conversion, while Santiago Carreras also succeeded with a three-pointer off the kicking tee as well as a conversion.
Under the guidance of head coach Steve Borthwick, the Red Rose have become a formidable force in the international arena in 2025, and this is their 11th successive victory, with their last defeat registered against Ireland during the Six Nations in February.
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The hosts had the better of the early exchanges, and Ford opened the scoring in the ninth minute when he slotted a drop goal from 35 metres out.
Shortly afterwards, Ben Spencer launched a high kick which Argentina failed to gather with Bautista Delguy throwing a wayward pass which Ojomoh intercepted before racing away from the cover defence on his way over the whitewash.
That was a fitting reward for the rookie inside centre, and in the 25th minute, he turned provider when he delivered a perfectly weighted cross-field kick, which Feyi-Waboso gathered before he crossed for his side’s second five-pointer.
Ten minutes later, Albornoz opened Argentina’s account when he slotted his first penalty before Luke Cowan-Dickie crossed the whitewash from close quarters, but his effort was ruled out when television replays revealed that he lost control of the ball while dotting down.
Despite that disallowed try, England had their tails up as they held a 17-3 lead at half-time.
Argentina needed a response if they wanted something from this game, and they made a brilliant start to the second period when Piccardo crossed for their opening try in the 45th minute.
The inside centre gave his side good momentum with the initial line break close to the halfway mark before the ball went through several phases thanks to good interplay between forwards and backs, and he eventually rounded off next to the posts.
That five-pointer was converted by Albornoz, who also slotted a penalty five minutes late,r which meant the match was now evenly poised with England holding a slender 17-13 lead.
Albornoz was replaced by Santiago Carreras, who was Los Pumas’ hero in that comeback win over Scotland, and soon after he entered the fray, he slotted another penalty for the visitors, which reduced the deficit to a point.
That meant we were set for a thrilling finish, but although the visitors upped the ante on attack, it was the Red Rose who would score next and, once again, it was Ojomoh – who was named as the official man of the match after game – who was involved.
In the 66th minute, the Bath star made a superb line break inside Argentina’s 22 before being brought to ground, but he did brilliantly to get a back-handed pass out to Slade, who went over for England’s third try.
That gave the Red Rose some breathing space, and five minutes later Ford added another penalty, which meant the hosts were now holding a 27-16 lead.
Argentina refused to surrender, however, and in the 79th minute Joaquin Oviedo went over, but his effort was disallowed after referee Pierre Brousset watched the replay on the stadium’s big screen and it revealed that Argentina’s replacement back-row had dropped the ball due to pressure from Fin Baxter.
England were then reduced to 14 men when Alex Coles was yellow-carded for an infringement in the build-up, and soon after Isgro dotted down to set up a tense finish.
The visitors were soon inside England’s 22 and were on the attack at a lineout deep inside their hosts’ 22. Los Pumas failed to control the ball at the set-piece however, and Ben Earl pounced to win the loose ball.
England scrambled to get the ball into touch after the hooter had blown, and that meant they clinched another deserved victory.
The teams
England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Max Ojomoh, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Guy Pepper, 5 Alex Coles, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 3 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Tom Curry, 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Alex Mitchell, 23 Marcus Smith
Argentina: 15 Juan Cruz Mallía, 14 Rodrigo Isgró, 13 Matías Moroni, 12 Justo Piccardo, 11 Bautista Delguy, 10 Tomás Albornoz, 9 Simón Benítez Cruz, 8 Santiago Grondona, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Juan Martín González, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Pedro Delgado, 2 Julián Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Tomás Rapetti, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Pablo Matera, 21 Joaquín Oviedo, 22 Agustín Moyano, 23 Santiago Carreras
Referee: Pierre Brousset (FFR)
Assistant referees: Nika Amashukeli (GRU), Sam Grove-White (SRU)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)
FPRO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)