For an England side in desperate need of victory, Saturday’s opening pool fixture with Argentina was simply about finding a way to win. There will surely come a time at this tournament for greater attacking invention, when a succession of strikes from George Ford’s right boot are not enough, but this was a first, vital building block for a team still in search of foundations.
While Argentina were some way short of their best, fluffing their lines with England apparently ripe for the taking, Steve Borthwick’s side surely deserve credit for the manner in which their 14 men harried and stifled their toughest Pool D opponents. This was comfortably the best showing yet for Kevin Sinfield’s defence, both accurate and intense – full back Freddie Steward had to only make one tackle and it took until the final minute for Rodrigo Bruni to add to Emiliano Boffelli’s fifth-minute penalty.
