SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO, Argentina (AP) — England showed steel in an emotionally charged atmosphere, holding on while twice reduced to 13 men to beat Argentina 31-24 Saturday and take a bonus point from one of the longest and most bizarre matches in its history.
A controversial match saw seven yellow cards and both teams were reduced to 13 men in the second half. At the end of an unfulfilling season, England found a way to win in a hostile environment, though Argentina threatened to snatch a draw at the end.
England’s 19-3 halftime lead melted away as Argentina rallied with a try and penalty try to cut its lead to two points 15 minutes into the second half. At the same time, England found itself in desperate straits with both Alex Coles and Jack van Poortvliet in the bin for deliberate knock-ons.
England was superb with its back to the wall, first holding out volleys of Argentina attacks then, restored to 14 men and finally to full strength, scoring tries through Marcus Smith and Manny Feyi-Waboso to seal its win.
LATE TRY RULED OUT
But that wasn’t the end and the tension that had been present at the start remained until the third minute of stoppage time when the final whistle sounded.
First, Argentina scored through Justo Piccardo in the 79th minute to make the margin seven points, then winger Bautista Delguy went over in the corner three minutes after the fulltime siren.
Australian referee Angus Gardiner’s on-field decision was that the try had been scored but he yielded after a lengthy debate with the television match official, scrubbed the try and blew an end to a memorable match.
“We always respect the ref. It’s part of our values,” Argentina captain Julian Montoya said after seeing the possibility of a draw snatched away. “We respect the decision. Of course I’m a bit frustrated but it is what it is.”
A FLURRY OF CARDS
As the pendulum swung back and forth in the second half Argentina was left with 13 men after Joaquin Oviedo and Santiago Carreras were shown yellow cards for a neck roll and professional foul. To complete the drama, England finished with 13, Argentina with 15 when Henry Pollock was sent to the sin-bin over team infringements and Emmanuel Iyogun, on debut, for cynical offending.
“The way that we rallied, the way we got around each other, the way that we fought when we got down to 13 ment, twice, was brilliant. That’s a big win,” England captain Jamie George said. “We made life so hard for ourselves, dropping down to 13 again but a lot of it goes down to the amount of pressure Argentina put us under.”
HEIGHTENED ATMOSPHERE
The match took place against a background of antagonism between the nations, heightened by Argentina’s recent semifinal win over England at the World Cup. As their national anthem played before the match, tears streamed down the cheeks of the Argentina players, emphasizing their emotional investment in the occasion.
Argentina also wore new, dark blue jerseys in a tribute to soccer superstar Diego Maradona whose statue stands outside the venue for Saturday’s match in Santiago del Estero, Argentina’s oldest city. That might have been seen as an incitement, evoking memories of the “hand of God” goal scored by Maradona to eject England from the 1986 World Cup.
But England managed to quell any lingering feeling with a try after only four minutes to winger Tommy Freeman, then a double to backrower Ben Earl which gave it a 19-3 lead at halftime.
It was a bruising encounter and there was occasional pushing and shoving among players when tries were scored. But mostly the match proceeded without incident and George didn’t have to follow through on his threat to take his players from the field if they were subjected to racial abuse.
The yellow cards mostly were for technical offences, rather than foul play.
ENGLAND SCORES
England was on top at halftime but that all changed in the first 15 minutes of the second half. Argentina finally found some space for its backs with its first possession of the second half. Winning a penalty it again took the lineouts and backs joined forwards in the shove and when the ball came free Mateo Carreras showed strength to force his way over.
England’s lead was cut to nine points and it immediately found itself down to 14 men when van Poortvliet was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on. Coles followed trying to prevent a try after an Albornoz break, conceding a penalty try and leaving England with 13 men for the first time.
From then on the game see-sawed, with England defending superbly in two stints with 13 and finally holding on to prevent a draw which would have been a bitter outcome.
