England captain George Ford said he was “proud of the boys” after a last-gap 22-17 victory over Argentina in San Juan sealed a 2-0 Test series win.
Replacement scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet went over in the final minute with the score locked at 17-17 following Guy Pepper’s brilliant blind-side break as England followed up last week’s 35-12 win in La Plata in style.
Ford, who made his 101st Test appearance for England, said: “We found a way in the end. We had a lot of opportunities in the 22, but couldn’t get over the line.
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“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.”
Both sides scored two tries in the first half, with Argentina twice hitting back through centre Lucio Cinti and wing Ignacio Mendy after touchdowns from England pair Seb Atkinson and Freddie Steward.
In a fast and furious encounter at the Bicentenary Stadium, Santiago Carreras’ first-half penalty had edged Argentina into a 17-14 interval lead, with George Ford’s penalty in the second period hauling England level before Van Poortvliet’s thrilling late effort.
Argentina captain Julian Montoya said his side paid the price for their ill-discipline.
He said: “We were not good enough, we have to be honest with ourselves. I am sorry we couldn’t get the win, we gave away too many penalties.”
England forward Ben Curry was sent to the sin-bin for his high tackle on Pablo Matera in the 20th minute and Argentina made their advantage count as Cinti went over for their opening try.
Argentina were reduced to 14 men in the second half when number eight Matera received a yellow card just before the hour for killing the ball at a maul just yards from his try line.
Two tiring teams maintained their ferocious battle – almost entirely in Argentina’s half – as the game headed into the final 10 minutes.
But with the clock ticking down, replacement flanker Pepper stole clear from a maul and after charging down the blind side he turned inside to send the supporting Van Poortvliet over for the decisive score.
