Eight key moments from England's heroic 27-10 win against Argentina
Eight key moments from England’s heroic 27-10 victory against Argentina in their Rugby World Cup opener
- England got their Rugby World Cup campaing underway with Argentina win
- Steve Borthwick’s side ran out 27-10 winners in Marseille on Saturday night
- Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results
- Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results
England got their Rugby World Cup campaign off to the perfect start on Saturday night with a 27-10 win against Group C rivals Argentina.
Despite Tom Curry being sent off for a dangerous high tackle in the opening minutes, Steve Borthwick’s side put a troubled warm-up campaign behind them and cruised to victory.
George Ford delivered all 27 points from the boot in a stand-out performance by the fly-half.
However, there were also a number of other impressive displays throughout the England team.
Here, Mail Sport takes a look at the key moments that earned the Red Roses the win in Marseille.
England got their Rugby World Cup campaign undeway with a 27-10 win against Argentina in Marseille
George Ford kicked all 27 points for England as they overcame the sending off of Tom Curry to win
The England fly-half barely put a foot wrong all evening, but there were also a number of impressive performances from his team-mates
24 minutes
This was the spark for England’s heroic defiance with 14 men. Argentina were hammering forward in the 22 and a try seemed certain until Courtney Lawes won a breakdown penalty in front of his posts.
27 minutes
England had been building some promising attacking momentum without managing to carve open the Pumas’ defence, so Ford adjusted and slotted his first drop goal, under pressure from advancing defenders.
31 minutes
Drop goal No 2 from Ford was an astonishing shot from the halfway line. The Sale fly-half dropped back into the pocket and drilled the ball between the posts, prompting wild jubilation from England fans in the stands.
37 minutes
The last of the triple drop-goal salvo was the most routine one for Ford as it was closer to the target and central, but it signified that England had settled into an effective system and their No 10 was in total control.
53 minutes
Manu Tuilagi had already been defending with thunderous aggression, but this time he buckled Santiago Chocobares with a sledgehammer hit which galvanised his team-mates and heaped pressure on the Pumas.
54 minutes
With Argentina reeling in the face of England’s swarming resistance, Lawes and Maro Itoje hunted targets in tandem before Itoje pounced at a ruck, with an eye-catching jackal to win his team another penalty, which Ford kicked.
Manu Tuilagi put in a number of big tackles to help galvanise his team-mates and keep Argentina at bay
Maro Itoje and Courtney Lawes also played starring roles as the Pumas struggled to make the most of their man advantage
65 minutes
The stars were aligning for England by now as Will Stuart received credit for winning a scrum penalty and, seconds later, Ford propelled a touch-finder into the right corner, to set up another shot and another three points.
69 minutes
Argentina were mounting a late charge to try to save face and breached a few tackles with some hard carrying, but when they reached England’s line, the defence held out in the face of a driving onslaught.
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