England defeat Argentina to win Summer series
England beat Argentina 17–22 in the final minutes in San Juan to seal the two-Test series.
Seb Atkinson crossed for his first international try, with Freddie Steward and Jack van Poortvliet also touching down, and seven points from George Ford guided England to victory.
England struck after four minutes with Tom Roebuck collecting a cross-field kick from Ford before feeding debutant Luke Northmore. Northmore offloaded smartly to Atkinson, who crossed for his try. Ford added the extras for a 0-7 lead.
Argentina replied four minutes later through a Santiago Carreras penalty.
Both sides exchanged possession in a scrappy spell but England’s defensive line speed forced several turnovers to stall Argentina’s momentum.
Ben Curry was then sent to the sin bin after 20 minutes for a high challenge on Pablo Matera.
England defended well with 14 men, but the pressure told five minutes later when scrumhalf Simon Benitez Cruz juggled a loose ball and broke down the middle of the field. His pass found Lucio Cinti, who dotted down. Carreras added the extras to give the hosts a 10-7 lead.
England hit back on 33 minutes following an attacking scrum on the edge of the 22. Ben Spencer gathered at the base of the scrum and the backs moved the ball wide to Roebuck, who cut inside before being brought down. The forwards edged close to the line, before Spencer released the backs again, this time finding Freddie Steward on the wing who crossed the whitewash. Ford converted to restore England’s lead.
Argentina responded just before the break. A 50:22 gave the hosts an attacking lineout, and from it, Carreras chipped over the top. The ball bounced awkwardly, wrong-footing Steward behind the posts, and Ignacio Mendy pounced on the loose ball to score. Carreras converted to give Argentina a 17-14 lead at the break.
England came out firing after the break but were met by strong Argentinian defence, who kept the visitors scoreless.
Curtis Langdon, brought into the 23 after Jamie George was called up to join the British and Irish Lions, replaced Theo Dan on 48 minutes after the hooker was forced off through injury.
Sustained attacking pressure eventually earned England a penalty, and Ford slotted the three points to level the scores at 17-17 on 52 minutes.
Argentina were reduced to 14 men shortly after when Pablo Matera was sent to the sin bin for infringing at the maul.
England’s attack continued to press. Substitute Guy Pepper broke through the middle but was brought down by a tap tackle from winger Matias Moroni. Ford nudged a kick into the corner, but Argentina secured the lineout and cleared.
A few phases later, England looked to have scored after Jack van Poortvliet scooped up a loose ball and dotted down in the corner, but the try was ruled out for a knock-on just before.
Van Poortvliet did get his score in the final minutes, sealing the win for England. Pepper found a hole in the Argentinian defence and beat two defenders before finding van Poortvliet on the inside, who ran over to give his side the 17-22 victory.
England now head to Washington to take on the United States on 19 July, on the final stop of the tour.
Reaction
George Ford: "We found a way in the end. We had a lot of opportunities in the 22 but couldn't get over the line, I'm proud of the boys. I like our fight, our togetherness, showing how much we care. There was some great stuff, we should have scored more tries but the attitude of the group is great."
