England player ratings v Argentina: George Ford the ‘man of the series’ as bench ’tilts tight contest’

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George Ford and the England bench had a big say in the win over Argentina.

Here are the England player ratings following Saturday’s last-gasp 22-17 win for Steve Borthwick’s side in San Juan in the second Test of their successful two-match series versus Argentina.

England player ratings v Argentina

15 Freddie Steward: Sport is a fickle business. Rounded off a well-worked first-half England move with a neat finish, then experienced the horror eight minutes later of getting caught out by the ball deflecting off a post and allowing Ignacio Mendy to profit. Carried often with effect. 7

14 Tom Roebuck: A two-try scorer in last week’s 35-12 win in Buenos Aires, he quickly paid back that favour with an immaculate aerial catch and offload to create England’s opening score just four minutes in. Continued from there in that selfless vein. 7

13 Luke Northmore: In for his Test debut following Henry Slade’s tour-ending injury last weekend, he enjoyed the brilliant start of giving the assist pass to the scoring Seb Atkinson. Was encouragingly solid in a midfield that had a single cap between them. That was a sure sign of an intelligent operator. 7

12 Seb Atkinson: Starred on his debut in the series opener, there was no let-up here as he finished his try with aplomb. He has subtle hands – check out his involvement in the backline mice for Steward’s 33rd-minute score. Peachy, despite the agony of a fingertip knock on that ruled out the 67th-minute try that Jack van Poortvliet thought he had scored. 8

11 Will Muir: In his second Test appearance under Borthwick, he exploded into the action around the half-hour with a blast down his wing, a fabulous catch of a clearance kick and provided the assist for the Steward try. Revelled in his clean breaks across his 62 minutes. 7

10 George Ford: Loves playing the Pumas and he was at it again here, being the England standout. Began with a brilliant crosskick to create his team’s first score. Then stood up in defence as well, enticing Argentina to force a pass on 25 minutes and butcher a try chance. Accounted for seven of his team’s points. His overall controlled, composed display shone with man-of-the-series excellence. 8

9 Ben Spencer: Started briskly, but the speed of the ball away from the ruck got too slow at times for him to be at his best. Produced an excellent touch finder to halfway from deep in his 22 when England took the restart after going 14-10 ahead. His 58th-minute exit was about right in terms of timing. 7

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

Planet Rugby player ratings key 10 - Career defining performance 9 - Outright blockbuster effort 8 - Significantly influenced the result of the game 7 - Committed and effective outing 6 - Flashes of brilliance outside of executing fundamentals 5 - Fulfilling the role required by position (base level) 4 - Poor execution of fundamentals 3 - Costly errors and/or discipline in the game 2 - Poor performance that directly impacted the result 1 - Grossly ineffective throughout 0 - Should have carried water instead

8 Tom Willis: The kudos he received last week for continuing to bomb forward after taking contact can generally be repeated here. Seemed to be blowing with England down a man to a yellow card, as he missed a tackle for Argentina’s first try, but he hit back with effect to produce a 66-minute performance with plenty of positives. 8

7 Sam Underhill: Another who put in a decent shift across his initial 58 minutes and then on his return to the action down the closing stretch. His breakdown work was annoying for the Pumas. The one regret was that he lost the ball in contact when carrying short of the try line three minutes into the second half, with England three points down. 7

6 Ben Curry: His twin isn’t at the top of his game with the Lions and Ben was similarly not top of the charts here. The momentum of his performance was impacted by the yellow-carded 20th-minute shoulder to the head of Pablo Matera, an absence that led to England losing their hard-won early lead. Kept trucking, however, and had an important role in the match-winning try. 6

5 Alex Coles: Set the tone with a ball-dislodging hit in the opening minute, he enjoyed getting stuck in and fully deserved to be on the winning side with a glue-type performance that kept the England pack digging in. 7

4 Charlie Ewels: He got trapped at a breakdown to give Argentina their first shot at goal, but the lock supplied the grit that kept England in this fight of inches. His level of involvement was brilliant to see for a player whose tour last year ended in another despairing red card. You have to love his redemption story. 7

3 Joe Heyes: Departed 18 minutes into the second half with his head held very high. This has been a tour where the tighthead has stepped on the accelerator with big impacts. Exited as his team’s top tackler after an all-action performance. The shame was that one he missed was the start for Argentina’s charge to their first try in 26 minutes. 8

2 Theo Dan: Promoted from the bench at the 11th hour with Jamie George suddenly rested due to his emergency British and Irish Lions call-up, his first start since the Rugby World Cup 2023 bronze medal match endured lineout inaccuracies, handling errors, and then the tempestuous high tackle near the Argentina line after another throwing mishap. Couldn’t finish at the back of a second-half maul and exited injured on 49 minutes. 4

1 Fin Baxter: Commended for his display in Buenos Aires, he had a couple of scrummaging issues here, such as a penalty-conceding knee down. Was energetic throughout though and, like Heyes, he took can feel immense pride that he left the action with England level. He tackled his heart out, and his open-play effectiveness was evident in the dextrous way he dived on a loose ball, a play that earned England a first-half penalty. 7

Replacements: The bench tilted this tight contest England’s way. Curtis Langdon made an immediate impact, his counter-rucking helping to win the penalty Ford’s game-levelling 53rd minute kick, and his 59th minute maul drive tempted Matera into his yellow-carded infringement. Guy Pepper was also a handful, and it was apt that it was excellence that set up fellow sub Van Poortvliet for the clinching try. 8

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

Argentina Jamie George Steve Borthwick

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