England 13 - 9 Argentina: Black to the drawing board

If ENGLAND started looking like the All Blacks in Dunedin’s futuristic Otago Stadium yesterday, once the whistle went, the differences between the world’s best and Martin Johnson’s erratic crew were painfully apparent. Where the tournament hosts sprang out of the traps, killing off their first match within half an hour, the England juggernaut spluttered and clanked embarrassingly, rarely getting out of first gear.

Outplayed and outfought, England were second best on the pitch and on the scoreboard until substitute scrum-half Ben Youngs’ dramatic try 13 minutes from time, with the score standing at 9-3, spared their blushes, with a late penalty lending an unduly rosy hue to the scoreline. Even then, during a frenzied late rally the Pumas still came uncomfortably close to scoring the try that would have seen England start this campaign with a defeat every bit as stunning as the 36-0 opening-day loss to South Africa four years ago.

Had Felipe Contepomi or his replacement Martin Rodriguez, who respectively missed one and five kicks at goal, packed their best kicking boots, then England’s fate would undoubtedly have been a humiliating reversal. A loss would have left England probably needing to beat Scotland to be sure of progressing to the knockout rounds. Johnson said afterwards that World Cup rugby is all about eking out results when not playing well. That may be so, yet his side’s curiously slipshod performance will still have caused the alarm bells to start clanging loudly in the England camp. Argentina may be a mix of super-annuated veterans and callow youngsters who were thought to have insufficient games together to mesh properly, yet talk of their demise has clearly been as exaggerated as rumours of an England renaissance. They may have players of great quality in key areas, but they also have manifest weaknesses that will be exposed once they reach the business end of the tournament, as now seems probable.

Interestingly, several of England’s key selections will now come under enormous scrutiny. With Toby Flood effectively discarded, Jonny Wilkinson’s experience and steadiness under pressure means he is both Plan A and Plan B, yet yesterday he missed an unprecedented five penalties in a row. For a side whose major successes have come from dominating possession and cashing in via penalties, the lack of a consistent goalkicker could be catastrophic. The first half, which Argentina edged 6-3, was the sort of tousy affair that England can expect against Georgia, Romania and Scotland, yet they struggled to get forward momentum or to contain the Pumas’ excellent counter-rucking when they had the ball, or to combat the Pumas’ tight-knit forward drives when they didn’t. It was no surprise when Contepomi kicked Argentina ahead after just eight minutes when England were tempted offside to break the Argentine siege of their line, although five minutes later Wilkinson kicked England back onto level terms. Rodriguez’s penalty on 21 minutes meant that the Pumas went into half-time leading 6-3, but it could have been so much worse for England.

The early exchanges of the second half were extremely difficult for England, even though the Pumas had lost key players Contepomi and centre Gonzalo Tiesi to injuries which look likely to rule them out of Argentina’s crucial game with Scotland in a fortnight’s time. Camped on the England line for extended periods, the Pumas only managed to add another penalty through Rodriguez, a dismal return given their dominance.

Although England at times looked bedraggled and incoherent, they have players capable of turning a game and one of them is Ben Youngs. The tyro No.9 came on ten minutes into the second half and immediately provided quicker ball from the breakdown and looked sparky around the fringes. When he spotted a gap at a lineout and scampered under the posts, he changed the course of the game. A Wilkinson conversion, followed by a penalty as the Pumas’ warhorses began to flag, sealed the barely-deserved win.

Scorers: Argentina: Pens: Contepomi, Rodriguez 2. England: Tries: Try: Youngs. Con: Wilkinson. Pens: Wilkinson 2.

Argentina: M Rodriguez; G Camacho, G Tiesi, S Fernandez, H Agulla; F Contepomi, N Vergallo; R Roncero, M Ledesma, J Figallo, M Carizza, P Albacete, J Farias Cabello, J M Leguizamon, J Fernandez Lobbe. Subs: J Imhoff for Tiesi (37), Bosch for Contepomi (25), Creevy for Ledesma (55), Scelzo for Figallo (58), Campos for Farias Cabello (69), Galarza for Leguizamon (78).

England: B Foden; C Ashton, M Tuilagi, M Tindall, D Armitage; J Wilkinson, R Wigglesworth; A Sheridan, S Thompson, D Cole, L Deacon, C Lawes, T Croft, J Haskell, N Easter. Subs: Youngs for Wigglesworth (49), Stevens for Sheridan (61), Hartley for Thompson (61), Palmer for Deacon (66).

Referee: Bryce Lawrence (NZ) Attendance: 30,700.