England clinch series with late try in thriller against Argentina
Freddie Steward was one of England's try scorer
©Steve Haag
Argentina 17-22 England, San Juan
England secured a hard-fought 22–17 victory over Argentina in San Juan on Saturday night, sealing a 2–0 series win with a dramatic late try by replacement scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet.
The visitors overcame a half-time deficit and held their nerve in the final moments of the game to complete an impressive comeback.
The match began with a burst of attacking rugby from England. In just the fifth minute, George Ford initiated a brilliant kick through which was collected and advanced by Tom Roebuck and Luke Northmore before Seb Atkinson finished the move for the opening try. Ford converted to give England a 7–0 lead.
Argentina responded swiftly with a penalty from Santiago Carreras in the 9th minute, reducing the margin to 7–3.
Tensions rose in the 20th minute when England flanker Ben Curry was shown a yellow card for a high tackle on Pablo Matera, giving the hosts a numerical advantage.
They capitalised on it when Simón Benítez Cruz created a break leading to Lucio Cinti scoring in the 26th minute. Carreras added the conversion to put Argentina ahead 10–7.
England regained the lead in the 33rd minute when Freddie Steward touched down after slick passing from Atkinson, Ford, and Muir. Ford’s conversion made it 14–10.
But Argentina struck back just before the break. Ignacio Mendy chased down a loose ball from a chip kick and grounded it in the 40th minute. Carreras’ conversion saw Argentina go into half-time leading 17–14.
The second half began cautiously. England suffered a blow when hooker Theo Dan went off injured in the 49th minute, forcing Curtis Langdon to come on. But Ford steadied the ship in the 53rd minute with a penalty kick to bring the score level at 17–17.
In the 59th minute, Argentina’s Pablo Matera was sent to the sin-bin, reducing the home side to 14 men. England pressed their advantage and were rewarded in the 79th minute when Guy Pepper made a break that set up Jack van Poortvliet for a vital try. Ford’s conversion extended the lead to 22–17.
England held on through the final whistle, celebrating a memorable win that not only gave them the match but also a clean sweep of the two-Test series against the Pumas.
Team line up:
Argentina: Elizalde; Moroni, Cinti, Piccardo, Mendy; S Carreras, Cruz; Gallo, Montoya (capt), Kodela, Petti, Rubiolo, S Grondona, Gonzalez, Matera
Reserves: Bernasconi, Vivas, Delgado, Paulos, Isa, B Grondona, Moyano, Roger
England: Steward; Roebuck, Northmore, Atkinson, Muir; Ford (capt), Spencer; Baxter, Dan, Heyes, Ewels, Coles, B Curry, Underhill, T Willis
Reserves: Langdon, Rodd, Opoku-Fordjour, Cunningham-South, Pepper, Dombrandt, Van Poortvliet, Murley
