RUGBY UNION Eddie’s feeling really greight

SIX-TRY ENGLAND BLAST INTO THE QUARTER-FINALS

Neil Squires

EDDIE JONES praised England’s coolness under fire as they became the first side through to the quarter-finals.

After making the semi-finals four years ago, Argentina went head-hunting again but paid the penalty with a six-try drubbing.

Owen Farrell was hit high and hard for the second game running and again it cost their opponents a red card.

For the USA’S sinner John Quill in Kobe, read Tomas Lavanini (right) here in Tokyo.

The dismissal of the Leicesterbound second row on 17 minutes effectively cost Argentina their chances of reaching the knockouts as England ruthlessly put away the 14-man Pumas. England have one final Pool C game left, against second-placed France, before their last- eight date against the Pool D runners-up.

Jones admitted: “I liked our psychological adaption to the game. When they went down to 14 men, it’s human nature that we dropped off a little bit because you think you’re going to win the game.

Temptation

“I was really pleased with how the players came back in the second half and dominated.

“That was a banana-skin game for us and if you’d have said we’d have 15 points after three games, we’d be pretty happy.”

France next Saturday provides Jones with the temptation to rest one or two of his ‘irreplaceable’ personnel. That approach is likely to be enforced in the case of Billy Vunipola, who went off at the interval with an ankle injury which will require further investigation today.

“We’ll have a look at it in the morning and see what it’s like. He’s twisted his ankle but we don’t think it’s too serious,” said Jones.

He will be crossing his fingers that really is the case. The powerful

No.8, who was invalided out of the 2015 World Cup with an ankle injury after only the second match against Wales, is a man England can ill-afford to lose.

Well though Lewis Ludlam played when he joined England’s back row duo of Sam Underhill and Tom Curry, there is no like- for- like replacement for Vunipola. His big brother

Mako made his return from long-term injury in the last quarter, along with Jack Nowell, who marked his comeback with a neat finish through an exhausted Argentina defence for a try.

The short-staffed Pumas fought valiantly – literally at times in a match littered with scuffles.

But they had only themselves to blame for their difficulties after Lavanini’s rash challenge.

Unlucky

“We were hoping it was just a yellow but it was a clear red,” admitted Argentina prop Juan Figallo.

“We had to deal with that and we tried and tried. But it’s tough to play a game in a World Cup with 14 men.

“Tomas isn’t feeling great but we support him. It was an unlucky tackle. Ten centimetres down and