England post statement away victory in niggly clash with Argentina
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SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO, Argentina, July 18 : Ben Earl scored two tries as England posted a statement 31-24 win away over Argentina in the Nations Championship on Saturday, winning a feisty contest littered with yellow cards, penalties and altercations between fired-up players and with a dramatic TMO decision at the death.
It was a second successive victory for England, after last weekend’s 73-8 rout of Fiji in Liverpool ended a run of six successive losses, while Argentina lost the second of their first three games in the new competition.
Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith and man-of-the-match Immanuel Feyi-Waboso also scored tries for England, while Fin Smith kicked three conversions.
Argentina scored through Mateo Carreras and Justo Piccardo and were awarded a penalty try in the second half with Tomas Albornoz putting over a penalty and two conversions.
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England opened the try scoring in the third minute with a clever chip kick from Fin Smith allowing Freeman to go over. It kicked off the first of several skirmishes between the players, pulling and tugging at each other’s jerseys as tempers were quick to fray.
Argentina, who played in the same blue colours that their soccer side did in Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final win over England in Atlanta, were further behind after 23 minutes when prop Joe Heyes burst through before Feyi-Waboso picked up his pass and fed Earl in support.
Earl’s second try came 10 minutes thereafter as England won a scrum on the five-metre line and he finished off an impressive drive.
PUMAS REVITALISED AFTER POOR FIRST HALF
It ensured a deserved 19-3 halftime lead but a revitalised home side were in the contest quickly after the break when winger Mateo Carreras, who had been sent to the sin bin in the first half, crashed over at the back of a maul in the 43rd minute.
Scrumhalf Jack van Poortvliet was yellow-carded for deliberately slapping down the ball and four minutes later joined by Alex Coles, also for a deliberate knock on after Tomas Albornoz had breached the defences and come close to the try line.
Coles was deemed to have denied Argentine substitute Pablo Matera a try-scoring chance, and a penalty try was awarded to make it 19-17.
Argentina squandered some of their numerical advantage, however, when No. 8 Joaquin Oviedo was yellow-carded for a dangerous clean-out.
Van Poortvliet returned from the sin bin to swing a long pass out to Marcus Smith to score in the corner in the 62nd minute, as replacement Henry Pollock sparked some life back into the England side.
FLURRY OF YELLOW CARDS
Santiago Carreras was yellow-carded, trying to knock the ball forward as it was swung out to Smith, suddenly leaving Argentina down to 13.
Argentina then lost a lineout to allow Feyi-Waboso to streak away and score a spectacular effort for a 31-17 lead, but Pollock and debutant Emmanuel Iyogun were then yellow carded in the final 10 minutes, leaving England back down to 13.
That allowed Argentina hope of getting the two tries they needed for a draw and Piccardo’s 80th minute score had them halfway there.
There were still seconds left when play restarted and after three minutes of intense attack, Bautista Delguy touched down in the corner for the potential equaliser but it was eventually ruled no try after a lengthy TMO review decided he had grounded the ball on the sideline.
Albornoz had to be held back from accosting referee Angus Gardner amid ugly scenes at the final whistle.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Ed Osmond)
Source: Reuters
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