England hold on with 13 men to beat Argentina 31-24 in seven-yellow-card thriller

England showed steel in an emotionally charged atmosphere, holding on while twice reduced to 13 men to beat Argentina 31-24 on Saturday in Santiago del Estero and take a bonus point from one of the longest and most bizarre matches in its history.

A controversial match saw seven yellow cards and both teams reduced to 13 men in the second half. England's 19-3 halftime lead melted away as Argentina rallied with a try and a penalty try to cut the deficit to two points 15 minutes into the second half, while England found itself in desperate straits with both Alex Coles and Jack van Poortvliet in the sin bin for deliberate knock-ons.

England were superb with their backs to the wall, first holding out volleys of Argentina attacks, then — restored to 14 and finally to full strength — scoring tries through Marcus Smith and Manny Feyi-Waboso to seal the win. But the drama was not over: Justo Piccardo scored in the 79th minute to make the margin seven points, and winger Bautista Delguy went over in the corner three minutes after the full-time siren. Referee Angus Gardiner, after a lengthy debate with the television match official, scrubbed the try and blew the final whistle on a memorable match.

"We always respect the ref. It's part of our values," Argentina captain Julian Montoya said. "We respect the decision. Of course I'm a bit frustrated but it is what it is." "The way that we rallied, the way we got around each other, the way that we fought when we got down to 13 men, twice, was brilliant. That's a big win," England captain Jamie George said.

Argentina wore new dark blue jerseys as a tribute to Diego Maradona, and the match came against the backdrop of Argentina's World Cup semifinal win over England. George did not have to follow through on his threat to take his players off the field if they were subjected to racial abuse — the yellow cards were mostly for technical offences rather than foul play.

Sources

• AP News