England’s disciplinary record has gone from concern to punchline to genuine crisis, and Saturday in Santiago del Estero did nothing to fix the reputation. Four yellow cards, nine minutes down to 13 men, and a disallowed try after the hooter — Steve Borthwick’s side still found a way out, beating Argentina 31-24 in a Rugby Nations Championship test that had no business ending that nervously.
England led 19-3 at halftime. Tommy Freeman and Ben Earl — twice — had crossed, Tomas Albornoz managed a single penalty for the Pumas, and Argentina spent the opening 40 looking over-emotional and self-destructive. Mateo Carreras was yellow-carded for a tackle on Freeman. The game looked settled.
It was not settled.
Jack van Poortvliet and Alex Coles were both sent to the bin in the second half, and when Henry Pollock and debutant Emmanuel Iyogun followed in the closing minutes, England were reduced to 13 players for the final five. That is now 14 yellow cards and one red across eight matches in 2026 for England — a rate that former England winger Chris Ashton, on BBC Radio 5 Live, framed bluntly: “If you are playing against England you know they are going to give penalties away and make some stupid errors that result in them losing games.”
The player who bailed them out was Immanuel Feyi-Waboso. The Exeter wing, named player of the match, produced a dynamic solo try in the 69th minute that pushed England’s lead far enough to survive what came next. He was the most dangerous attacker on the field all afternoon, hunting for ball and finding gaps.
“A tough-fought match,” Feyi-Waboso said afterward. “What did it go to, 83 minutes? Really dramatic to finish like that. Argentina — the passion, the fans, the atmosphere was amazing. Discipline wasn’t great from us. We managed to see out the victory at the end.”
The finish was extraordinary. Justo Piccardo scored in the 80th minute to pull Argentina within a converted try of a draw. From the restart, the Pumas churned through more than 20 phases — three minutes past the hooter — and Bautista Delguy dove for the right corner. Referee Angus Gardner awarded the try on the field. Then came the lengthy video review, with Gardner and TMO Brett Cronan disagreeing over whether the ball had been grounded in touch. The try was chalked off. Ball on the sideline. Game over.
Former England scrum-half Matt Dawson acknowledged the progress but zeroed in on the problem that threatens to undo it. “The big question is what to do with England’s discipline. It’s verging on comical. It’s ridiculous how many cards this team have had.”
England have now won two straight after the nightmare opening 20 minutes against South Africa that began this tour. There is progress in the attack, in the set piece, in Feyi-Waboso’s emergence as a genuine game-breaker. There is also a discipline problem that no amount of grit can paper over indefinitely. Playing 13-a-side rugby in the final five minutes of an international test is not a strategy. It is a countdown.
Sources:
- BBC Sport — England vs Argentina live coverage
- Yahoo Sports — Cards, chaos and controversy: How England just about clung on for Argentina victory