Further reading
Match report: England 39-10 Argentina
Robert Kitson was in the Tokyo Stadium to see England score six tries en route to a fairly straightforward victory over an Argentina team reduced to 14 men inside 20 minutes. Here’s how he saw the action unfold.
The Lavanini sending-off: Here it is, for anyone who might be intrigued by what happened. Can you imagine a footballer listening to a referee’s explanation, taking the card and walking off without complaint like that? Nope, me neither.
He's OFF 🔴
— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) October 5, 2019
Argentina down to 14 as Tomas Lavanini is red carded for a high tackle on guess who? Farrell again...@Nigelrefowens explains the decision #RWC2019 #ENGvARG pic.twitter.com/IX4im3CAk8
England’s bench: As an Ireland fan, it hasn’t gone unnoticed by me that there are players on our bench that clearly aren’t trusted by our coach, Joe Schmidt. This clearly isn’t a problem for England, who have astonishing strength in depth in their squad. All eight players on their bench ooze quality, while there are another eight players who weren’t in today’s match-day squad who wouldn’t look even remotely out of place in the starting line-up.
Rob Kitson speaks: Well, tweets. What did the Guardian’s man in Tokyo make of England’s performance.
What's ho-hum in Japanese? England & France could theoretically both put out second teams next Saturday and still be guaranteed to qualify for the last eight.
— robert kitson (@robkitson) October 5, 2019
George Ford speaks: “We’re happy with the result but there are areas we can do better in and that’s the exciting thing,” says England’s fly-half in a chat with ITV.
On playing against 14 men, he makes an interesting point. “There’s potentially more space on the field which can seduce you a little bit,” he says. “You’re tempted to do things you don’t need to do. In the second half we wanted to simplify our game and not be seduced. We wanted to get our ball-carriers involved and play through the lines. And that’s what we did.”
The ITV view: In the ITV studio, Jonny Wilkinson, Clive Woodward and Lawrence Dallaglio allseem to be of a mind that Eddie Jones will be largely pleased with this performance ahead of England’s next game, against France next Saturday at 9.15am (BST).
England injury concerns: Both Joe Marler and Billy Vunipola succumbed to injuries in this game and the seriousness of their ailments will be closely assessed in the coming days. Marler looks like he might have damaged a hamstring, while Vunipola did a mischief to his ankle that forced him off at half-time.
England secure their quarter-final place: It was a curate’s egg of a performance from the English players - good in spots, but with plenty of room for improvement after a disjointed, scrappy performance.
Their task was made easier by the first half dismissal of Argentina second-row Tomas Lavanini and they scored six tries en route to becoming the first team to qualify for the knockout stages. France will join them if they beat Tonga tomorrow.
Full-time: England 39-10 Argentina
Owen Farrell takes the last kick of the game, slotting the ball between the posts for the conversion and sealing a comfortable win for England in the process.
80+1 min: Both sets of players get involved in some “afters”, while Nigel Owens clucks disapprovingly at them like a farmyard hen. We’re still waiting for the conversion attempt.
TRY! England 37-10 Argentina
England drive over from about 10 metres out for their sixth try of the game. The man at the bottom of the pile of bodies receiving congratulatory pats on the head is Luke Cowan-Dickie.
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78 min: We’re nearing full-time and the end of Argentina’s interest in this tournament. They’re capable of better than they’ve shown today, but were hamstrung by the dismissal of second-row Tomas Lavanini for a high tackle after 18 or 19 minutes. They were always on a hiding to nothing after that, but even so ... too many of their key players have failed to deliver.
TRY! England 32-10 Argentina
Excellent play from Jack Nowell after Jonny May breaks the Argentina line with a dash through the centre. The ball’s played wide out to Nowell by Farrell and the substitute cannons into three opposition players, bounces away from them and breaks through another tackle to touch down in the corner. Farrell’s conversion kick goes over, taking a bounce off the left upright on its way.
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74 min: That was a nice try by Argentina, but an appalling lapse in concentration by England’s players that is likely to displease their head coach Eddie Jones no end. They should be 30 or more points clear in this game ...
TRY! England 25-10 Argentina
72 min: Given up, eh? After some neat passing by assorted Argentinians, Matias Moroni exploits a gap in the England defence, steps out of a last-ditch tackle by Manu Tuilagi and goes over under the posts for Argentina. The try is converted.
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69 min: It’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that England might have been better off if Argentina hadn’t had a man sent off inside 20 minutes. This has been too easy for them; they could be ahead by a lot more and they’re now looking very flat and uninspired against a team that has more or less given up.
68 min: Henry Slade comes on for George Ford, who’s had a good game. Jack Nowell replaces Anthony Watson on the wing. England have now emptied their bench.
66 min: Courtney Lawes is late with a charge-down, doesn’t get the ball and catches Emiliano Boffelli with a late one. Penalty for Argentina, who think Lawes should get a yellow card for his troubles as well. Boffelli kicks for the corner and Lawes wins the lineout. England are back in possession.
64 min: Argentina miss a kick into the corner after England are penalised for collapsing the scrum. Mako Vunipola the guilty party, going down under pressure from Agustin Creevy. Luke Cowan-Dickie comes off the England bench to replace hooker Jamie George.
62 min: Dan Cole comes on for his 92nd cap, replacing Kyle Sinckler. In slightly worrying news for England, Joe Marler goes off looking like he might have done a mischief to his hamstring. He’s replaced by Mako Vunipola.
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61 min: Mensa ... brains. Eh? Eh? I’ll get my coat.
60 min: Argentina fly-half Benjamin Urdapilleta has not had one of his better games and goes off, to be replaced by Lucas Mensa, who will now be the brains of the Argentina operation.
58 min: THere’s a break in play as Argentina scrum-half Tomas Cubelli receives treatment before being helped off by two of his side’s backroom staff. I must confess, I don’t know how he came a cropper, but it looks like his his World Cup is over. Felipe Ezcurra replaces him. Well, I’m presuming he does, I haven’t actually seen him come on yet.
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56 min: Courtney Lawes comes off the bench for England with George Kruis making way. There’s a break in play as Nigel Owens gives Joe Marler and Santiago Medrano a telling-off. “We haven’t had any problems in the scrum ... until now,” he says. He tells Marler to not to start misbehaving now, before instructing Medrano to “buy into the discipline and values your team-mates brought to the front row before going off”. That’s them told.
Penalty! England 25-3 Argentina
Owen Farrell slots over. On the ITV commentary team, Ugo Monye says he was hoping for a decent contest, but doesn’t feel sorry for Argentina even though they’re down to 14 men. “I’m not seeing the levels of energy or the game management required from them,” he says, He adds that he sees no sign of leadership from their senior players.
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52 min: Santiago Carrera gives away a penalty for going off his feet, but Nigel Owens plays advantage. He calls a second advantage when Santiago Medrano strays offside. England penalty on the Argentina 22.
50 min: England are in complete control. George Ford pins them back on their own line with a fine kick to the corner. Argentina win the lineout and clear their lines.
48 min: Willi Heinz comes off the bench to replace Ben Youngs. With Argentina’s players looking increasingly knackered, England are turning the screw. Aregentina change their front row: Agustin Creevy, Mayco Vivas and Santiago Medrano come on for the graveyard shift.
TRY! England 22-3 Argentina
Having dragged the Argentina defence from one siade of the pitch to the other. Jonny May goes for the corner and is tackled. Underhill and Tuilagi draw the tacklers with a couple of good carries, before Ford goes over in the corner. Owen Farrell finally gets his cross0-hairs aligned and puts one over.
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44 min: England scrum halfway between the halfway line and the Argentina 22. England play it out wide to the right before sending the ball back inside the other way through several pairs of hands. They’re in the Argentina 22, under the posts about 15 metres from the line.
42 min: Argentina lineout on the England 22. England win the turnover and Sam Underhill drives over the gain line and towards halfway for England.
Second half: England 15-3 Argentina
41 min: Play resumes. Billy Vunipola, who suffered an ankle injury towards the end of the first half, has been replaced by Lewis Ludlam. Argentina, who are down to 14 men following the dismissal of Tomas Lavanini, have made no changes yet.
Half-time: England 15-3 Argentina
England go in for the break with a 12-point lead. It could and should be a lot more. Owen Farrell has missed four kicks at goal, while several promising attacks have broken down on the back of handling errors. Argentina lost Tomas Lavanini to a red card for a high tackle on Farrell and are looking exhausted.
You’d expect England to pull further clear as the game goes on and their opponents become increasingly tired. England were lucky not to lose Manu Tuilagi to a yellow card for tackling Emiliano Boffelli while the Argentina full-back was airborne and off his feet.
TRY! England 15-3 Argentina
After a surge towards the line from Man Tuilagi, Billy Vunipola takes the ball from the bottom of the ruck and passes to Ben Youngs. He spots a gap and nips through to touch down, with Pablo Matero missing the tackle for Argentina. Owen Farrell makes it zero from four on the kicking front, missing his conversion attempt.
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40+2 min: England lay siege to the Argentina line, having gone through 20 phases of play.
40 min: The half-time gong sounds and the clock goes red. England continue going through the phases in a bid to put a little more hurt on Argentina before the break.
38 min: The humidity in the Tokyo air tonight means the ball is like a bar of soap. At least that’s what they’re saying in the ITV commentary box, in a bid to excuse England’s myriad handling errors. I make it six so far - it’s costing them points.
TRY! England 10-3 Argentina (Daly)
35 min: Nigel Owens is warning the Argentina players not to handle the ball. England send the ball out wide - George Ford swings it towards Elliot Daly, juggles it before gaining control and cutting inside two Argentinians and going over. Owen Farrell misses yet another kick, hitting the post with his conversion attempt.
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35 min: England are camped on the Argentina line.
34 min: Good play from England, who are now just a couple of metres from the Argentina line.
32 min: England scrum halfway inside their own half. They win a penalty and George Ford kicks for touch. From the ensuing lineout, the ball goes from one set of hands to the other out the line, with Anthony Watson finding Daly.
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31 min: Thirty minutes in and Argentina are ahead, but looking very fatigued already. They’re a man down and England are dominating possession and keeping the ball in play as much as possible in a bid to tire them out.
30 min: There’s a break in play as Billy Vunipola receives medical attention.
30 min: Owen Farrell sprints on to a pass from George Ford but drops it after good build-up play from Billy Vunipola and Kyle Sinckler up front.
29 min: England have possession, but Elliot Daly is tackled near halfway by Javier Ortego Desio.
28 min: Down to 14 men, Argentina win a lineout and have ball in hand on halfway. Centre Matias Orlando runs on to a pop pass and charges into a wall of England muscle.
25 min: On the ITV commentary team, my colleague the Guardian columnist Ugo Monye explains that England are kicking the ball down the centre rather than going for touch in order to keep it in play, so that any wayward kicks from Boffelli will enable the likes of May, Watson and Daly to get their engines revving and put the opposition under extreme pressure.
24 min: England scrum, just inside their own half. George Ford kicks down the middle and Argentina full-back gathers Emiliano Boffelli. His kick for touch is sublime.
21 min: The game has been going for 30 minutes, but only 21 have actually been played. There have been no injuries, which more or less means that Nigel Owens has been yapping for the other nine.
20 min: Manu Tuilagi tackles Emiliano Boffelli just before the Argentina full-back lands on the ground after catching a high ball. Argentina’s players appeal for a card for the England centre, but Nigel Owens says the tackle was only slightly late and a penalty will have to suffice. It’s not in kicking range.
18 min: Nigel Owens is keeping busy and after sending off Lavanini, he admonishes England’s players, informing them he doesn’t need them to tell him to refer to the big screen in a bid to get opposition players penalised. Nobody likes a grass, as they say. Owen Farrell misses the penalty England were awarded on the back of Lavanini’s high tackle.
Red card! Tomas Lavanini is off!
Argentina are down to 14 men as Tomas Lavanini becomes the fifth player to be shown a red card in this tournament. Nigel Owens and his TMO can see no mitigating factors to keep him on the field. He was high, he led with his shoulder and caught Farrell on the head. He walks for the touchline and looks absolutely distraught. It’s the correct decision, but I don’t think there was too much malice in the tackle.
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17 min: A huge hit by second-row Tomas Lavanini on Owen Farrell should knock the England centre into the middle week. It’s high! Nigel Owens goes to his TMO.
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15 min: England keep the Argentinians under pressure, but a handling error gifts possession to the men from South America, who clear their lines courtesy of Matias Moroni’s boot. He kicks long, but doesn’t find touch. Elliot Daly gathers and England advance again.
13 min: Elliot Daly plays the ball out to Anthony Watson on the right touchline, but he’s brought to ground by Benjamin Urdapilleta. Argentina win possession just outside their own 22, but a knock on by prop Juan Figallo gives the scrum to England.
13 min: Hurrah! The air turns blue with plenty of effing and jeffing as England win the scrum against the head before Pablo Matero catches Owen Farrell with a late tackle. A mass brawl ensues, but its little more than handbags. Nigel Owens urges both captains to tell their players to behave themselves.
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12 min: Argentina scrum on the England 22, which takes a while to set up. “A little less talking and a little more scrummaging, please lads,” says Nigel Owens, admonishing both sets of forwards.
TRY! England 5-3 Argentina
England hit back immediately. A drive for the Argentina line after a good take from Mario Itoje was stopped illegally. With a penalty to fall back on, England have a freebie and play the ball out to the wing. Jonny May goes over in the corner after George Ford had drawn two tacklers before finding his teammate out by the touchline. Owen Farrell pulls his conversion wide of the left upright.
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England 0-3 Argentina: Benjamin Urdapilleta ahead with the penalty. England are behind, but things could be worse for them.
6 min: With England under extreme pressure, Elliot Daly puts in a brilliant tackle to prevent Santiago Carreras going over in the corner. Referee Nigel Owens takes Owen Farrell to one side and points out three different penalties his team could have conceded in the build-up to that tackle. Argentina get one of those penalties for a no-arms tackle by Kyle Sinckler. Owens tells Farrell to warn his players that there’s a yellow card in the post.
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4 min: Two brilliant kicks from Argentina after a knock-on from Billy Vunipola. First Urdapilleta sends Matias Moroni on his way with ball in hand with an excellent kick from deep. The winger makes serious ground up the centre and kicks for the English try line. It’s a foot race between him and Jonny May, which the Englishman wins. He gathers and brings the ball over his own line before touching down. Excellent stuff from Argentina, who have a five-metre scrum.
2 min: A box kick from Argentina scrum-half Tomas Cubelli and Argentina are penalised for offside as they chase the dropping ball. England win a line-out on halfway as Urdapilleta puts the ball into touch.
England v Argentina is go ...
1 min: Nigel blows his whistle and Benjamin Urdapilleta kicks off for Argentina. Ben Youngs takes the ball from the back of the ensuing ruck and kicks up the field. Argentina take possession and go through the phases as they make their way up the centre of the pitch.
Suspect the first few mins of this will be very tasty... #ENGvARG
— robert kitson (@robkitson) October 5, 2019
Here we go: The sides make their way out on to the pitch, England’s players wearing red shirts with navy shoulders, navy shorts and red and navy socks. Argentina’s wear light blue and white striped shirts, white shorts and light bluer and white striped socks. They line up either side of referee Nigel Owens and his team of match officials for the national anthems.
Not too long now: We’re brought into the bowels of the stadium, where Argentina’s players are leaving the dressing room. The substitutes are making a ferocious din, geeing up the starting XV as they prepare for this do-or-die game. Anything less than victory will reduce the status of their match against the USA next week to that of dead rubber. After a week’s worth of one-sided contests in this Rugby World Cup, here’s hoping we get a closely fought contest here.
For me, Clive: “If every single player plays at their optimal level, England should win this game,” says Sir Clive Woodward in his role as pundit on ITV. It’s a controversial opinion and no mistake. Clive is in the studio with his fellow World Cup winners Lawrence Dallaglio and Jonny Wilkinson.
Argentina team news
Head coach Mario Ledesma must mastermind victory over England today if his side are to have any chance of making the quarter-finals. He has made just one change to the team that started their most recvent game against Togo, with No8, Javier Ortega Desio replacing Tomas Lezana at the back of the scrum. Fly-half Nicolas Sanchez is not in the match-day 23, despite not missing an Argentina game since October 2016. Benjamin Urdapilleta will be pulling the strings today.
Argentina: 15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Matas Moroni, 13 Matias Orlando, 12 Jeronimo De La Fuente, 11 Santiago Carreras, 10 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 9 Toms Cubelli, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Julian Montoya, 3 Juan Figallo, 4 Guido Petti, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 6 Pablo Matera (captain), 7 Marcos Kremer, 8 Javier Ortega Desio.
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Tomas Lezana, 21 Felipe Ezcurra, 22 Lucas Mensa, 23 Bautista Delguy.
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England team news
Having rotated his squad for England’s win over the USA, Eddie Jones reverts back to something approaching his strongest starting XV. With a full squad to choose from, he makes one change to the side that beat Tonga in their opening match, with Saracens’ George Kruis coming in for Courtney Lawes in the second row.
England: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Owen Farrell (c), 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 1 Joe Marler, 2 Jamie George, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 4 Maro Itoje, 5 George Kruis, 6 Tom Curry, 7 Sam Underhill, 8 Billy Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Lewis Ludlam, 21 Willi Heinz, 22 Henry Slade, 23 Jack Nowell.
Eddie Jones speaks: While England are white-hot favourites to win comfortably today, their head coach is not taking today’s opponents lightly. They are desperate to win, after all. “Argentina base their game on the scrum,” he says. “It’s a test of manlihood so you have to take them on up-front – scrum, maul, ruck attack, ruck defence. That’s where it will be won.”
He is, however, pleased with his own team’s preparations. “Everyone trained really well this morning,” he said yesterday. “They’re looking fit, fast, brutal and ready to go. There are no last minute messages. The players are well prepared. They know what to do, now they just have to go out there and do it.”
Pool C: England v Argentina
The Tokyo Stadium is the venue for England’s match against Argentina. WIth two wins from two under their belts, victory for Eddie Jones’s men will all but secure their place in the quarter-finals. Following their opening defeat by France, Argentina must win to keep their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages alive. Kick-off is at 9am (BST), but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
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