Argentina v England: Five takeaways as Steve Borthwick finds ‘the answer to a problem position’ as players and coaches ‘claim kudos’

Following a 22-17 victory for England against Argentina in San Juan that sealed a 2-0 series win, here’s our five takeaways from the game.

The top line

England sealed a two-Test series win as they recorded back-to-back triumphs against Los Pumas in the impressive Estadio Bicentenario.

Three tries came England’s way – from the outstanding Seb Atkinson, Freddie Steward and Jack van Poortvliet, but given their vast superiority in field position and ball in hand time, England will be wondering why they failed to convert their superiority into points.

Argentina replied with two of their own – one form Lucio Cinti and one that will give Steward nightmares for months to come as he let Ignacio Mendy touch down as the England full-back failed to gather a regulation ball under his own posts.

Nevertheless, this match takes England’s winning streak in Argentina to some 16 years, a remarkable statistic given the rise of Los Pumas as a rugby force.

It may not have been pretty, it may not have been effective, but a win is a win and it’s impossible to underestimate the importance of the success of this tour in terms of England’s progression and exploration of their squad.

Inefficiencies

Given the sheer amount of territory and possession England had in this match, their ability to finish off the possession they had is a mystery that would defeat the sleuthing powers of Lt Columbo himself.

Second-half stats showed 81% territory and some 60% possession – remarkable numbers, but even more remarkable was England’s ability to lose the ball in contact or to kick it away – 17 visits into the Argentinian 22 told you everything you needed to know about inefficiency.

The breakdown was contested brilliantly and powerfully, a free for all at times and one might also question the latitude that the defences found in pushing the offside line.

England did their very best not to score, kicking possession away when they needed beyond anything to keep ball in hand and maintain possession. They really struggled with the intensity of Los Pumas with ball in hand and as the game went on and became even more deconstructed, so England lost their shape completely.

It took a moment of brilliance from Guy Pepper to break the deadlock as the flanker sprinted down the touchline to set Van Poortvliet, a man who, up until that moment, had been the antithesis of impact in another dithering and rudderless performance, over for the winning try.

It was not one you’d pin on the wall for quality of performance, but it was a win against a top five side away from home, a strong statement from England considering how many players are unavailable.

Warriors

Argentina will celebrate the career of the immense warrior, Pablo Matera. When Matera fires, so do Los Pumas, and he didn’t budge an inch in his power-packed display in his 111th record breaking Test for his country.

His stats told the tale of his commitment; three key turnovers, 11 tackles, three dominant and 8 thundering carries but he’ll rue the yellow card he conceded as he flopped over a ruck.

In the lineout, Guido Petti has already made a mess of Toulouse and La Rochelle’s much vaunted set-piece this season in the Top 14 and again his presence and athleticism gave England all sorts of issues in the air, especially given the poor early throwing of Theo Dan.

With Matias Moroni superb in defence in the air and down the channels, and Juan Martin Gonzalez again demonstrating his credentials, Argentina can only look at their lack of ability to make metres with ball in hand and their propensity to concede penalties – 15 of them – when they wonder how their defensive effort didn’t result in a better outcome.

Squad depth

One of the biggest takeouts of this short two-Test tour to Argentina has been how England have backfilled their depth in a number of positions that had previously had question marks over them.

At tighthead, Joe Heyes was simply magnificent. Up against a seasoned experienced loosehead in Thomas Gallo and his club captain, the superb Julian Montoya, Heyes dominated the tight battle in both Tests, showing wonderful technique in splitting out the loosehead from his hooker, and showing real dominance in his set up and positioning. Add in his average 14 tackles a match and a few thundering carries, and it’s safe to say the Tigers tighthead is now a sure-fire presence in England’s 23.

Alongside Heyes, read and repeat for Fin Baxter, who once again built upon his promising test start. In the engine room, Alex Coles is now pushing for Test starts for every game, and it was great to see Charlie Ewels, one of the nicest guys in the sport, finally turning his Test career around.

This list could also include Tom Roebuck, Ben Spencer, Tom Willis and a couple of others but the real star was at 12. Gloucester’s Atkinson could just be the answer to a problem position for England, one that’s never quite been decided upon. Atkinson was absolutely superb in Test one, showing huge appetite for work-rate and also for physicality in defence and around the breakdown. His opening try in this match summed up his style; he disrupted and spoiled the Puma ruck down the left flank. As the ball emerged, his support line saw him catch and offload inside to create continuity, and then he looped around in support to score. An absolutely outstanding effort from a very promising young centre.

Coach challenge

And, as new players put their hand up to claim kudos and caps from their performances, England’s tour coaches, Byron McGuigan (defence) and Lee Blackett (attack and skills) have had a real impact on the way England are playing.

Leading with the defence, McGuigan has added real clout and the superpower he has brought is deep aggression into the hit. England play a moderated push and are predominantly ball watching rather than in a standard blitz which tends to be man watching. That means the actual push comes from the ball position rather than by preconceived positional blitzing based upon a nominated leader (normally the 13). The former Sale wing, a man noted for his personal abrasion on the field of play, has brought real snarl and bite to England’s shoulder work into the tackle. Word has it that he spends hours with the players getting them to short snap into the hit off a stable base, with speed, timing and immense power. England’s tackle dominance has gone up light years in the short time he’s had with the players and he’s brought something of real quality into the marginal gain strategy of the English game.

In attack, England, driven by the experience and form of Ford and Spencer, showed so much more pace and shape in attack than we’ve seen for a long time, despite the inefficiencies in this game, a lot of which could be put down to the brilliance of Los Pumas and their ability to push the offside line without penalty.

Blackett, an absolute icon of attacking coaching, has a knack of making players enjoy having the ball in their hands and that philosophy really showed. It wasn’t rote attacking either – it was all about having options either side of powerful drives, something that characterises the Bath style and Wasps before them, the two sides Blackett has worked with.

England and Steve Borthwick have had a rocky ride with assistant coaches but they need to consider exactly how they retain these two outstanding rugby minds.

READ MORE: England secure series win in Argentina as replacements combine for last-ditch crossing