This was a sobering reminder of how much ground England have to make up on the leading World Cup contenders, less than 12 months before the tournament begins. A first defeat by Argentina in 13 years, a first at Twickenham since 2006 and a performance with enough mistakes to cause considerable concern with more formidable Tests awaiting this month. Eddie Jones has insisted England will be keeping things up their sleeve between now and next year’s World Cup but the old gag about where Napoleon keeps his armies springs to mind, so little firepower did England showcase.
Instead, Argentina struck with two fine second-half tries through Emiliano Boffelli and Santiago Carreras and weathered the briefest of England comebacks to clinch victory. Boffelli was superb throughout, finishing with 25 points, such was his accuracy from the tee.
