England secures victory amidst disciplinary challenges
England defeated Argentina 31-24 in Santiago del Estero in a match that saw considerable disciplinary issues, with seven yellow cards issued during the 80 minutes. The game was part of the Nations Championship and concluded England‘s summer fixtures on a positive note. This victory marks England‘s second consecutive win in the competition.
Ben Earl, England‘s No. 8, was a key player, scoring two tries. His contributions came within an eight-minute period in the first half. Other try scorers for England included Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith, and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso. Feyi-Waboso was named man-of-the-match.
The match was described as dramatic, with England winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso noting it was a hard-fought victory despite their discipline not being optimal. England received four yellow cards during the game, while Argentina also had players sent to the sin bin.
Key moments and controversies
The fixture was tense even before kick-off, with incidents occurring off the pitch. Argentina‘s footballers had previously beaten England in a World Cup semi-final. Additionally, England back-rower Henry Pollock was filmed interacting with Argentine fans from the team bus in the capital city.
England captain Jamie George had stated before the match that his team would leave the field if they faced racist abuse, following discriminatory remarks heard by Asher Opoku-Fordjour and Chandler Cunningham-South in San Juan the previous year.
On the field, England established an early lead of 12-0 after 25 minutes with tries from Tommy Freeman and Ben Earl. Argentina faced further difficulties when winger Mateo Carreras received a yellow card for a shoulder hit, reducing them to 14 men. England extended their lead to 19-3 by halftime after Earl scored his second try, with Tomas Albornoz slotting a penalty for Argentina.
In the second half, Carreras scored for Argentina. However, England‘s Jack van Poortvliet was then sent to the sin bin, making the score 19-10. Argentina narrowed the gap to two points after being awarded a penalty try, which also resulted in Alex Coles of England receiving a yellow card. Argentina then had Joaquin Oviedo yellow-carded, allowing England to regain momentum with Marcus Smith scoring.
The match concluded with England having 13 men on the field after Pollock and Emmanuel Iyogun were yellow-carded. Argentina‘s attempt at a comeback saw Justo Piccardo score just before the end of normal time. An 83rd-minute try by winger Bautista Delguy was disallowed after a discussion between the referee and the television match official, denying Tomas Albornoz a conversion attempt that could have led to a draw.
Team lineups and officials
The Argentina starting lineup included Santiago Carreras at fullback, Bautista Delguy and Mateo Carreras on the wings, and Matias Moroni and Justo Piccardo in the centres. Tomas Albornoz was at flyhalf, and Gonzalo Garcia at scrumhalf. The forward pack featured Joaquin Oviedo, Marcos Kremer, Santiago Grondona, Matias Alemanno, Guido Petti, Tomas Rapetti, Julian Montoya (captain), and Mayco Vivas. Replacements included Ignacio Ruiz, Boris Wenger, Pedro Delgado, Efrain Elias, Pablo Matera, Joaquin Moro, Simon Benitez Cruz, and Lucio Cinti.
For England, Marcus Smith started at fullback, with Tommy Freeman and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso on the wings. Henry Slade and Seb Atkinson were the centres, while Fin Smith was at flyhalf and Jack van Poortvliet at scrumhalf. The forwards included Ben Earl, Guy Pepper, Ollie Chessum, George Martin, Alex Coles, Joe Heyes, Jamie George (captain), and Ellis Genge. The bench consisted of Luke Cowan-Dickie, Emmanuel Iyogun, George Kloska, Tom Curry, Henry Pollock, Ben Spencer, Benhard Janse van Rensburg, and Noah Caluori.
The match was officiated by referee Angus Gardner from Australia, with assistant referees Nika Amashukeli from Georgia and Paul Williams from New Zealand. The Television Match Official (TMO) was Brett Cronan from Australia.
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Source: bbc.com
