5 things we learned

Pack is lacking punch

England might need a few more joint training sessions between their forwards and Wales, or another rival nation — on a better surface this time — as the scrum was regularly under pressure from the Pumas’ pack. The home forwards conceded set-piece penalties, but did rally late on.

Underhill a man mountain

Sam Underhill is a defensive machine. The Bath flanker introduced himself to the England crowd in his first home appearance with a relentless demonstration of tackling force. Most of the hits were dominant ones. He varied his target area from ankle to chest height, all to the same devastating effect. It was a brutal onslaught.

The law is up in the air

Aerial contests for the ball remain a major problem area for the sport. Argentina full-back Joaquin Tuculet was sin-binned for the challenge which led to Mike Brown crashing to earth head first, but it was an accident. His intent was to win the ball. Common sense is required, but there is no easy fix.

Slade hits wrong notes

The jury is still out on Henry Slade. This was not an occasion when the Exeter playmaker was able to demonstrate his attacking repertoire in midfield. There was not a stable platform for his 10-12 partnership with George Ford to flourish, but some snatched, loose passes suggested he was nervous.

Pitch far from perfect

The England rugby team must be the priority when it comes to the use of Twickenham. For this first Test of the new season, the playing surface should have been at its pristine best — instead it looked patchy, with American football markings still visible after two recent NFL matches.