Ford inspires England to fine win in Argentina

Argentina: (0) 12

Tries: Matera, Rubiolo Cons: Carreras

England: (3) 35

Tries: Roebuck (2), Steward, Murley Cons: Ford (3) Pens: Ford (2) Drop-goal: Ford

Clinical England produced a second-half masterclass to see off Argentina 35-12 in the first Test at Estadio Jorge Luis Hirschi in La Plata.

After holding off the toothless Pumas for 40 minutes to lead by three points at the break, England then took charge, Sale's Tom Roebuck scoring twice and Freddie Steward of Leicester also finding a try in the space of nine minutes.

Argentina hit back with two scores of their own - but marshalled by the superb George Ford, earning his 100th cap, England showed composure and defensive fortitude to keep their hosts in check.

Ford added two penalties to stretch England's lead before Harlequins wing Cadan Murley completed the job with a well-taken try five minutes from the end.

At one stage in the first half, England were down to 13 men with Alex Coles and Seb Atkinson in the sin-bin, but held firm in the face of relentless Argentina attacking.

It was while Coles was off the field that Ford, who became the eighth male centurion for England, provided the half's only score with a drop goal.

After the break, Steve Borthwick's side cut loose, Roebuck applying the finish to an excellent move, although Ford missed the conversion from the touchline.

Just five minutes later, Ford turned provider to tee up Steward to touch down between the posts before another superb passing move opened the door for Roebuck to notch his second.

The shellshocked Pumas hit back through a try from Pablo Matera, whose 109th cap levelled the record for most appearances for his country, and another fine score from Bristol lock Pedro Rubiolo trimmed the gap to 10 points.

It was not enough, though, as Ford added two composed penalties from distance to put the game out of reach before Murley added the gloss.

Argentina, who beat the British and Irish Lions 28-24 in Dublin just two weeks ago and are one place above England at fifth in the world rankings, have plenty of questions to answer before the second Test in San Juan next Saturday.

Argentina must be sick of the sight of Ford.

In September 2023, the fly-half kicked all 27 points as 14-man England beat the Pumas in the World Cup group stage before helping Steve Borthwick's side to victory over Argentina again in the bronze medal match a month later.

Overlooked by the Lions this summer and supplanted by Marcus Smith in England's first-choice XI, he seized his opportunity to impress.

In the face of Argentina's dominance at the start, Ford - along with co-captain Jamie George - helped marshal an outstanding defensive effort.

Then, when presented with a rare opportunity in front of the posts, he showed his ruthless instinct, drilling home a vital three points when an under-numbered England looked in trouble.

After half-time, England acquired more possession and Ford assumed the role of conductor, having a hand in all three tries, albeit missing one conversion from the touchline.

When Argentina had hauled themselves back into the game, two fine Ford penalties from distance in the second half, as well as two excellent conversions, rendered any comeback impossible.

"We understand how difficult it is against Argentina so it is a great win for us," Ford said afterwards. "We've got to back it up now - we know they'll come back at us next week."

His composure showed up Argentina. Opposing fly-half Santiago Carreras missed a penalty when the game was scoreless and his woeful conversion attempt damaged momentum after Matera had finally found a try for Argentina.

Rubiolo's wonderful counter-attacking try with 20 minutes to go hinted at the Argentina form they had produced to beat New Zealand and world champions South Africa over the past 12 months.

Such quality will be required next Saturday if they are to improve on their miserable record of 13 defeats in 14 matches against England.

England: Steward; Roebuck, Slade, S Atkinson, Muir; Ford, Spencer; Baxter, George, Heyes, Ewels, Coles, B Curry, Underhill, Willis.

Replacements: Dan, Rodd, Opoku-Fordjour, Cunningham-South, Pepper, Dombrandt, Van Poortvliet, Murley.

Argentina: Elizalde; Isgro, Cinti, Piccardo, Cordero, Carreras, Bertranou; Vicas, Montoya, Delgado, Paulos, Rubiolo, Matera, Gonzalez, Isa.

Replacements: Bernasconi, Gallo, Marchetti, Grondona, Moro, Cruz, Roger, Moroni.

Referee: Angus Gardner (Aus)

Assitant referees: Luc Ramos (Fra) and Gianluca Gnecchi (Ita)

TMO: Olly Hodges (Ire)