England v Argentina SUNDAY 4.10pm

[Epaminondas Pules]

As an accumulation of five weeks together that was simply stunning rugby…….

[fivepointer]

A win is never to be sniffed at but at times that was a very uncomfortable afternoon. We rallied just enough in the closing quarter to get over the line. Ojomoh made a big impact and I thought AOF went very well. Daly did nothing of note, I thought Spencer laboured and our back row never got on top. Bench lifted things a touch but it was a close run thing at the end.

Quite why one of the worlds best refs was running the line and we had to put up with Brusset is something World Rugby needs to sort out. The best refs must handle the top games.

[twitchy]

Good win. Just. Think you’ve found your 12. Pollock very useful but is turning into that annoying mate that starts unnecessary fights at the pub. Good work by Itoje sorting it out. RG so close. Puts our bigger loss into stark perspective.

Id argue last week's team was far more cohesive and better prepared than this week's.

That’s very kind of you but Argentina took that shit up a notch while we didn’t.

He is right, a big part of our game plan is based around players that were missing this week and couldn't replicate the roles.

[FKAS]

I thought Steward was dreadful. Barely took a high ball all game which makes it pointless picking him.

How many did Argentina take in the air? None. They got nothing. Quite frankly I'll take a knock on from anyone against a team that's good in the air. Our scrum and first phase defence is good. At international rugby it's often the turnover ball, the bouncing ball, the ball won in the air beyond the opposition defence that creates the points. Very hard to win everything clean in the air when the opposition are allowed to jump into you with only passing interest in attempting to play the ball.

He also increasingly ran the lines you'd expect from a 13 as the game went on. With Ojomoh offering limited direct carrying and Slade no direct carrying he gave the attack something to get over the line. Probably not something we'll need in the 6N when we will hopefully be fielding at least two of Freeman, Lawrence and Roebuck. Will depend on what Borthwick thinks we need I expect. As he's selected Steward for every game he's been fit this Autumn maybe he's changed his mind about what he wants at 15 though he might change it again by the 6N

[Oakboy]

It just feels like we got away with it - just. Why did SB leave Marcus on the bench?

Because Ford was playing well and Steward was our only direct carrying threat.

Max Ojomoh, drifted in and out of the game at times but when he was in the game, wow. Scored or created three tries. That's how you put down a marker. England need a 12, been hearing that for years and now we seem to have three (plus some more waiting for a chance). Just need to find some outside centres now...

It's almost like we must not criticise Ford any more. IMO, it was some good, some bad. Late in the game we desperately sharpness and pure pace over the ground to put some pressure on. I thought Marcus should have come on with Mitchell.

Overall, I think Ford's kicking was more unsuccessful than successful. Spencer nearly always kicked well.

I thought Ojomoh showed some sparks and defended well. Let's face it, no centre pairing is going to excel with both 9 and 10 kicking that much. Ojomoh and Slade gelled well with what possession they got.

SB got it wrong picking Daly.

Whatever, a win is a win. 4/4 is superb.

[FKAS]

It just feels like we got away with it - just. Why did SB leave Marcus on the bench?

Because Ford was playing well and Steward was our only direct carrying threat.

Max Ojomoh, drifted in and out of the game at times but when he was in the game, wow. Scored or created three tries. That's how you put down a marker. England need a 12, been hearing that for years and now we seem to have three (plus some more waiting for a chance). Just need to find some outside centres now...

It's almost like we must not criticise Ford any more. IMO, it was some good, some bad. Late in the game we desperately sharpness and pure pace over the ground to put some pressure on. I thought Marcus should have come on with Mitchell.

Overall, I think Ford's kicking was more unsuccessful than successful. Spencer nearly always kicked well.

I thought Ojomoh showed some sparks and defended well. Let's face it, no centre pairing is going to excel with both 9 and 10 kicking that much. Ojomoh and Slade gelled well with what possession they got.

SB got it wrong picking Daly.

Whatever, a win is a win. 4/4 is superb.

Yeah I don't think Ford was as good as previous weeks. He was at least a 9/10 Vs NZ (had that crossfield kick been on the money 10/10). Today was more a 7/10. I had confidence that Ford would see out the game, Marcus was probably a flip of the coin with either win with probably a greater scoreline or we don't break out of that period where we struggle for possession and ultimately lose. Marcus still feels like the gamble, rolling the dice at 10. At 15 it seems less risky but Steward was doing well (in the running for man of the match) and not trusted to move into midfield so there wasn't the opportunity for Marcus.

I do wish Freddie would develop a bit of versatility, I think he's twice moved to the centres for Tigers later on in games but adding the ability to slot in elsewhere in the backline would make him far more useful for England.

[Mr Mwenda]

Surprised people were so negative. A win with a massively disrupted side given the injuries against a good team is a good result in my opinion.

I thought the centre pairing unsurprisingly became more cohesive as the game went on. Ojomah has earned more chances there. Spencer and Slade made me think they shouldn't be immediately discarded. Daly had the worst game of the backs. Hopefully just rustiness but given Gus age he can't afford not not be solid.

Surprised nobody mentioned that Ewels did not receive a red card.

Really weird that the pumas were so angry about the Curry hit. Happy it was a penalty but it wasn't particularly egregious as these things go.

So, the building continues and there are hints of new options emerging in the centre. Not bad return given the injury situation.

[twitchy]

I turned off at the final whistle. Apparently a fight in the tunnel or just handbags?

[Captainhaircut]

I turned off at the final whistle. Apparently a fight in the tunnel or just handbags?

Yeah Grondona went at Curry after the final whistle but thankfully Pollock stepped in as peacemaker….

Contepomi now saying Curry “hit” him in the tunnel. Which he subsequently rowed back to a push and they subsequently confirmed he brought on himself by saying he got in Curry’s face saying “you broke our players knee”. Shame Curry didn’t knock him out.

[Galfon]

I turned off at the final whistle. Apparently a fight in the tunnel or just handbags?

Rugbypass version:

Curry – the villain of the piece for the Argies – looked particularly aggrieved as he walked off from the initial round of handbag, pushing past unused replacement Marcus Smith as the Harlequins player tried to console him.
Television cameras then caught skipper Maro Itoje sprinting back towards the tunnel entrance as the melee continued off-screen, with stewards and backroom staff rushing in to separate players.
It looked like the Sale Sharks back-row continued to get involved further down the tunnel away from the cameras as he made his way to the changing rooms. Although it’s unclear how the tunnel incident played out, RugbyPass understands that Curry and Contepomi were involved in a physical altercation.

[p/d]

Really weird that the pumas were so angry about the Curry hit. Happy it was a penalty but it wasn't particularly egregious as these things go.

Wasn’t it more that it left them with only 14 on the pitch?

[Oakboy]

Really weird that the pumas were so angry about the Curry hit. Happy it was a penalty but it wasn't particularly egregious as these things go.

Wasn’t it more that it left them with only 14 on the pitch?

It must have been, I'd imagine. We see a lot worse every season.

[FKAS]

I really didn't see anything in it. Curry doesn't target the standing leg and it's a generous penalty. Ford got hit after passing multiple times and no penalty was forthcoming, those tackles were no later than Curry's. Nothing illegal in the tackle itself other than the timing according to the ref. Doesn't really necessitate a scrap in the tunnel, I think Contepomi has lost his head on the touchline a bit with the game being so close. Some of his players probably fed off that as well. I think on commentary they said something about Contepomi arguing with someone in the stands whilst the game was ongoing.

[loudnconfident]

Really weird that the pumas were so angry about the Curry hit. Happy it was a penalty but it wasn't particularly egregious as these things go.

Wasn’t it more that it left them with only 14 on the pitch?

Is'nt that because they used all their substitutes for tactical reasons?

[Puja]

Really weird that the pumas were so angry about the Curry hit. Happy it was a penalty but it wasn't particularly egregious as these things go.

Wasn’t it more that it left them with only 14 on the pitch?

That strikes me as their problem rather than anything Curry's done. No-one made them pick a 6:2 bench or bring everybody on.

It's not a dangerous tackle by any stretch of the imagination, nor is there any hint of a deliberate attempt to damage. It's borderline even being a late tackle at all, frankly. If it was a Calum Clark style GBH or a shoulder charge or a dive at a knee, then I might understand, but that's just a tackle and an unfortunate injury. Contepomi needs to sleep on that and then apologise to Curry, cause going after him in the tunnel is unacceptable behaviour.

Puja

[Puja]

Just watched it back again and it's not a penalty. Curry makes contact less than half a second after Mallia kicks it and he's running at full-pace - there is no earthly way that he can possibly avoid contact from that position. He doesn't accelerate in or dive - the only thing he could've possibly change would be to show he wasn't tackling by not wrapping, which would've caused its own problems.

That is the laws of physics and if Contepomi (or the ref, for that matter) thinks there is something different Curry could've done, I'd like to invite him to sprint full-tilt at a brick wall and then demonstrate how he can stop on on a sixpence.

Puja

[fivepointer]

I thought at the time that it was a borderline penalty and certainly nothing more than that. That the Argentinian player was injured was unfortunate but Curry's contact was hardly malicious or even at full throttle.

[p/d]

Really weird that the pumas were so angry about the Curry hit. Happy it was a penalty but it wasn't particularly egregious as these things go.

Wasn’t it more that it left them with only 14 on the pitch?

That strikes me as their problem rather than anything Curry's done. No-one made them pick a 6:2 bench or bring everybody on.

It's not a dangerous tackle by any stretch of the imagination, nor is there any hint of a deliberate attempt to damage. It's borderline even being a late tackle at all, frankly. If it was a Calum Clark style GBH or a shoulder charge or a dive at a knee, then I might understand, but that's just a tackle and an unfortunate injury. Contepomi needs to sleep on that and then apologise to Curry, cause going after him in the tunnel is unacceptable behaviour.

Puja

Ha!!! I never said it wasn’t their problem. More to point out that was more the catalyst for his toys out of pram behaviour that he then deflected onto TC

[p/d]

Anyhoo. A game of 2 halves, far from a classic but a win is a win. Ojomoh the star of the day, AOF went well and Daly a constant threat to England.

The atmosphere sounded dreadful on TV and can drop goal ‘attempts’ be restricted to from your own half or final 10 mins of play.

[Captainhaircut]

I thought Steward was dreadful. Barely took a high ball all game which makes it pointless picking him.

How many did Argentina take in the air? None. They got nothing. Quite frankly I'll take a knock on from anyone against a team that's good in the air. Our scrum and first phase defence is good. At international rugby it's often the turnover ball, the bouncing ball, the ball won in the air beyond the opposition defence that creates the points. Very hard to win everything clean in the air when the opposition are allowed to jump into you with only passing interest in attempting to play the ball.

He also increasingly ran the lines you'd expect from a 13 as the game went on. With Ojomoh offering limited direct carrying and Slade no direct carrying he gave the attack something to get over the line. Probably not something we'll need in the 6N when we will hopefully be fielding at least two of Freeman, Lawrence and Roebuck. Will depend on what Borthwick thinks we need I expect. As he's selected Steward for every game he's been fit this Autumn maybe he's changed his mind about what he wants at 15 though he might change it again by the 6N

They didn’t get nothing- I’ll wait for Puja’s mbm but as I said in my original post, the whole crazy last 5 minutes came from Steward knocking on a very easy unchallenged catch on the right wing. 3 passes later and it’s with Malia who kicks a 50/22 but also gets a penalty which leads to the entry for their final try. Steward catches that and it’s the 75th minute and we are camped in their half.

For someone whose super strength is meant to be the high ball, it’s a moment that not good enough and almost costs us.

[Stom]

I was unable to watch the game. I saw highlights and Ojomoh had a hand in everything. Was he really good, or was it just the highlights?

And, also, how did the others go? I've read here that Daly was crap, how did the others go? Steward...I see above, anyone else? Would it have been better with MSmith and Arundell playing? Or were all the problems coming from the pack and 9/10?

[Danno]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/ ... -tom-curry

Bitch all you like Contepomi, you lost.

[FKAS]

I thought Steward was dreadful. Barely took a high ball all game which makes it pointless picking him.

How many did Argentina take in the air? None. They got nothing. Quite frankly I'll take a knock on from anyone against a team that's good in the air. Our scrum and first phase defence is good. At international rugby it's often the turnover ball, the bouncing ball, the ball won in the air beyond the opposition defence that creates the points. Very hard to win everything clean in the air when the opposition are allowed to jump into you with only passing interest in attempting to play the ball.

He also increasingly ran the lines you'd expect from a 13 as the game went on. With Ojomoh offering limited direct carrying and Slade no direct carrying he gave the attack something to get over the line. Probably not something we'll need in the 6N when we will hopefully be fielding at least two of Freeman, Lawrence and Roebuck. Will depend on what Borthwick thinks we need I expect. As he's selected Steward for every game he's been fit this Autumn maybe he's changed his mind about what he wants at 15 though he might change it again by the 6N

They didn’t get nothing- I’ll wait for Puja’s mbm but as I said in my original post, the whole crazy last 5 minutes came from Steward knocking on a very easy unchallenged catch on the right wing. 3 passes later and it’s with Malia who kicks a 50/22 but also gets a penalty which leads to the entry for their final try. Steward catches that and it’s the 75th minute and we are camped in their half.

For someone whose super strength is meant to be the high ball, it’s a moment that not good enough and almost costs us.

Yeah that specific knock on down the right wing was poor, not sure if he took his eye off it or he misjudged the trajectory but iirc it came off his shoulder. Losing one ball midway in the opposition half shouldn't lead to us fighting for the game though. There were multiple other feck ups during the second half that helped allow the Pumas back in. It will be the lack of accuracy across the second half that will probably grind on Borthwick. Steward should take that kick, we fell off lots of tackles we should have made, competed at rucks we shouldn't have (giving penalties away) etc.

[twitchy]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/ ... -tom-curry

Bitch all you like Contepomi, you lost.

Really poor from him. I completely understand being upset for the player, but he should have more self-control than that as the coach. If you read comments from any neutral fans they say it wasn't a bad tackle and a penalty at most. It wasn't even "controversial" really considering what went on in the previous games. I thought the match overall was played in a good spirit.

The bizarre thing was a few mins before the on field incident the camera panned to him and the commentators said something like "always a cool customer" and then he goes and does this.

[FKAS]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/ ... -tom-curry

Bitch all you like Contepomi, you lost.

“How old is he?” said Contepomi of Curry. “Twenty-seven? And strong. And I am 48 and he comes and just [shoves me]. I was standing there. He was coming in to say hi to one of our coaches, but we said no because we were upset. I said: ‘Man, you broke his knee,’ and he said: ‘Fuck off,’ and pushed me like that.

“Maybe that is the way he is, I don’t know him. I am not happy with the situation, after breaking someone’s knee I think you need to be at least humble and respectful enough to say: ‘Sorry, I did something wrong,’ but he did the opposite. Maybe it is his way of being a bully. If we want bullies in this game, good on them. It was a late, late tackle, or reckless.”

So I take it Contepomi was extremely relaxed and not at all angry when Tom Curry decided to visit the Puma changing room post game which is traditional and in the spirit of the game.