Red-card resilience
Daly sent off after just five minutes - but England show mettle to close in on record
England claimed their 12th consecutive victory under Eddie Jones, but this could easily be classed as the finest of them all.
Yes, that might be a big call given that they have won a Grand Slam and have beaten Australia three times away from home, but such was the adversity they faced here that this was a quite remarkable performance. The character and flexibility was truly astonishing.
England lost Elliot Daly after just five minutes when the winger was sent off for a dangerous tackle, were down to 13 men twice in a match that brought six cards in all (a red and two yellows for each side) and lost their talismanic No 8, Billy Vunipola, to injury.
Yet they reacted and adjusted as only the best teams can, producing a stunning collective effort and some jaw-droppingly brave individual contributions.
The breakdown work was again magnificent, forcing Argentina to concede a plethora of penalties, and they defended superbly, with Mako Vunipola, Chris Robshaw, George Kruis, Courtney Lawes and Tom Wood all worthy of glowing mentions up front.
Outside, Jonathan Joseph had a momentous first half while Owen Farrell, Jonny May and Mike Brown all had huge matches. Indeed there was nobody, Daly and maybe Dan Cole and Joe Marler aside, who merited any sort of censure. Kyle Sinckler, in two stints off the bench, was quite outstanding.
Argentina will be hugely disappointed because they had such a wonderful opportunity. Agustín Creevy was as big an influence as ever and replacement Facundo Isa was a mountainous presence at times, but as a side they looked fatigued after a long year and just could not cope with England’s streetwise work and hunger for the contest.
Still, it was a surprise that England led 16-7 at half time after one of the more incident-packed halves in recent memory. That the half took an hour was less surprising.
Farrell had given England the lead before Daly made his fateful error. Ben Youngs box-kicked from inside his own 22 and off set Daly in pursuit. Up went No 8 Leonardo Senatore and Daly completely mistimed his challenge, taking Senatore out and spinning him upwards and then down to land on his head. Daly could have walked off there and then. As the regulations are, it was the clearest red card you will ever see.
He meant no malice but it was clumsy and the outcome was horrible. You wonder how much playing out of position was a factor. Chasing box-kicks has become a specialist art. So Daly became only the fifth England player to be sent off, and the first back.
Senatore departed for a head injury assessment and did not return. He was one of three Argentines to undergo HIAs in the first seven minutes.
What enraged England supporters was that soon afterwards Juan Pablo Estelles made a challenge that looked similar to Daly’s, on May. Luckily for him May broke his fall with his foot. It was only a penalty, and it was the correct decision.
Before and after that Farrell kicked two penalties and then England were awarded a penalty try. Again it was totally the correct decision.
Juan Martín Hernández was stripped of the ball by Farrell, and Billy Vunipola fed George Ford. When the fly-half was tackled Robshaw picked up and hoped to find Wood on the outside for a certain try. Instead, Argentina wing Matías Orlando stuck out a hand and prevented all that.
Referee Pascal Gaüzère, who would have been my man of the match, immediately ran to the posts before bran-
dishing a yellow card to Orlando. Farrell converted and England led 16-0. It seemed unreal given the circumstances. And understandably the Argentine pressure grew.
After one attack Billy Vunipola was left lying away from the action. On closer inspection he could be seen pounding the turf in agony. His right knee had gone. Even the very best players suffer injury sometimes, and Vunipola has been England’s very best player this year.
There followed scrum after scrum for England infringement after infringement. A yellow card was inevitable and off went Cole to leave England with just 13 men. Off the next scrummage, Isa powered away to score. Hernàndez converted and it was 16-7.
That became 16-14 almost as soon as the second half began as Argentina scored a wonderful try from deep, first freeing Estelles down the left, who received good support inside from Jerónimo de la Fuente and Tomás Cubelli, before Santiago Cordero was given an easy run in. Hernández converted.
Farrell kicked a penalty to give England some breathing space and then, with Marler and Jamie George on in the front row, England won a scrummage penalty that brought raucous celebration. Farrell kicked it and it was 22-14 with the final quarter well under way.
Next England engineered a steaming line-out drive that Argentina could only stop illegally. Pablo Matera was yellow-carded, but it was a shock when Farrell missed the penalty.
No matter. England fashioned a delightful try from the drop out. Lawes and Kruis made good ground first and then Ford delayed the pass to Wood exceptionally well so that Joseph could put May away down the left.
Brown went perilously close after a storming break and slide but he lost the ball, and there was still much more drama to come. Marler held Enrique Pieretto on the ground and the Argentina replacement stamped on Marler’s head in retaliation. Marler received a yellow, Pieretto a red. Yet again the decisions were spot on.
As was England’s spirit. This was one memorable day.