Argentina v England | Result | World Cup 2011

Finished Carisbrook

9 - 13

Argentina

England

England edge out Argentina

England survived a brutal forward battle in their opening World Cup match against Argentina to win 13-9 at the Otago Stadium. More

Live Commentary
Time:80'
- Argentina
- England
- 80+3' England have the penalty and will kick to touch to end the game and secure a narrow 13-9 win!
- 80+2' They work it inside, away from the touchline. Taking their time - on the England 10-metre line.
- 80+1' As we cross the 80-minute mark, Argentina have a lineout near halfway.
- 80' The noise rising around the ground as they make their way forward. Over halfway... Imhoff streaks down the left and tries a little kick. Manu Tuilagi pulls him back, but the officials are unmoved!
- 79' Argentina boxed in when they win possession of the ball just in time... they run it out and Bosch is through the first line!
- 79' The ball is moved left when either side is an option. Tindall lifts one over an Argentina arm and Armitage, feet planted, catches... he tries to power down a narrow gap and gets the ball down, but is just in touch.
- 78' Wilkinson kicks to the corner. 77:08 on the clock as the lineout is prepared. Clever move out of the maul sees Tindall flying across on a diagonal run, fed by Wilkinson... stopped by Argentina.
- 77' Youngs with a superb kick down the right flank, chased down and collected by Ashton. Quiet game from him. And England have a penalty!
- 77' Over halfway. England win the ball and have the put-in at a scrum if there is no advantage.
- 76' England take the ball and kick clear. Argentina to build from deep, and will surely go for a try. They do indeed run it.
- 75' PENALTY FOR ENGLAND! ENGLAND 13-9! He sends it home to put England more than a penalty beyond Argentina with five minutes left to play.
- 74' Penalty to England! Central position for Jonny this time. Just to the right of the posts.
- 74' Scotland, Georgia and Romania are the other teams in the group. Group B details
- 73' England win the put-in at the scrum and will be in no hurry to move the match along. First one collapses.
- 72' Great take by Armitage from the Wilkinson up-and-under. He takes a smack for his trouble and looks a bit dazed but is all right.
- 71' Wilkinson's usually trusty left boot again sends it wide of the near post by some margin. A difficult one, but he is known for kicking those on a regular basis.
- 70' Penalty to England in the scrum. Wilkinson to kick for goal - a few yards from the left touchline.
- 69' Argentina change: Alejandro Campos on for Cabello.
- 69' Horribly sliced up-and-under from Horacio Agulla and the ball is then knocked on by Argentina. Scrum to England.
- 68' PENALTY FOR ENGLAND! 10-9 ENGLAND! This is the easiest kick Wilkinson has ever had probably... and he sends it over to put England into the lead.
- 67' TRY FOR ENGLAND! 9-8 ARGENTINA! England win the lineout easily and the battle begins... they aren't making forward progress so come across. Ben Youngs picks up out of the ruck and bends a brilliant run through to score!
- 66' England change: Tom Palmer replaces Louis Deacon in the second row.
- 66' Armitage fights to find a way through as England press into their rivals' half. Still only a converted try from a win. And a penalty arrives on the left - Camacho penalised. England kick to the corner.
- 65' It is a long way out - but way wide from the golden boy of English rugby. He has missed the last four.
- 64' Argentina have had 55 per cent of both the territory and possession. They give away another penalty - but with one from four so far, Wilkinson is not guaranteed to kick it.
- 63' England changes: Matt Stevens on for Sheridan and Dylan Hartley on for Thompson.
- 62' Penalty to England - two men waiting to come on for the side in black.
- 61' Argentina waste a minute or so at the breakdown. They still have good position.
- 60' Another pair of scrums break down. England not happy with it.
- 59' England under pressure in defence and making many errors to acclaim from the Argentine fans. Stuck in the South Americans' half - it's a good job they have been profligate with the boot.
- 58' Argentina change: Martin Scelzo on for Nicolas Vergallo.
- 58' Rodriguez with an easier kick - and still drags it wide! He has been so poor with the boot. And a streaker arrives on to the playing surface to cheers!
- 57' Argentina change: Agustin Creevy on for Ledesma.
- 56' Penalty for Argentina as the front row of the scrum collapses. Sheridan shakes his head.
- 55' Scrum to Argentina as they slow it down in England territory. Johnson and his charges increasingly frustrated.
- 54' Cole carrying - Easter penalised for joining in the ruck illegally. A joyous atmosphere in areas of the ground... not much love lost between these two nations.
- 53' Armitage given a thump by opposite wing Camacho and is being looked at.
- 52' England playing running rugby now with urgency against a granite defence.
- 51' Wilkinson with it from the left... and it is wide again! He struck it well enough, but no points. Drop-out. Fiji secure opening win
- 50' Argentina offside and England take it quickly. Lawes leading the charge - and England have a penalty. This match is the opposite of the last two. France come through Japan test
- 49' Rodriguez misses yet another kick from a long way out. Why does he keep trying them? He should look for position.
- 48' Tindall with the ball, feeding Thompson above his head. They go into the breakdown and England are penalised again.
- 47' Wilkinson opts for the place kick and his effort is wide of the near post.
- 46' Not a good start to the second period from England. They win a penalty here, on the Argentina 10-metre line a few yards in from the right touchline. Cole back on.
- 45' PENALTY FOR ARGENTINA! 9-3 ARGENTINA! Rodriguez sends it over from the left to wild cheers behind the posts.
- 44' They cannot find a way through as Wigglesworth makes an important tackle and the offside decision is actioned. What will they do? Kick for goal.
- 43' Argentina put the ball deep in the England half where Ashton clears. But back come the blue and white hoops - and are attacking in the corner! Advantage played for them...
- 42' England under pressure straight away, but Wilkinson has a penalty to take it off. He doesn't find touch with it.
- 41' And we are under way for the second half.
- - Will England win from here? Are we looking okay for a first game? Leave a comment below. /// Ben: "england will win this match 17-13"
- 40' Drop-goal from a long way out falls short. Ambitious from Argentina. England have the ball... high from Wilkinson and Argentina take it cleanly - they wait out the final 20 seconds or so before kicking into touch.
- 39' Ledesma carries it and is tackled - and Lawes is following to hit him again! Not deliberate but another Argentine suffers at the hands of Lawes after the ball has gone.
- 38' Camacho with a clever run inside and is stopped, but the ball will come back out to the right not far from the try-line...
- 38' Argentina change: Tiesi will not make it and is replaced by Juan Jose Imhoff.
- 38' Outside centre Gonzalo Tiesi is down injured and receiving treatment on his thigh or knee. He was absolutely hammered by Courtney Lawes after delivering a pass.
- 37' Armitage take a bouncing ball near his own five-metre line. The ball comes out of the ruck to Wilkinson, who clears to touch from the back of the try area.
- 36' Rodriguez pulls another very poor kick wide of the near post from a way out. No wind to affect these efforts.
- 35' Argentina have conceded four penalties. They will go for goal here as half-time approaches.
- 34' Kicked to touch and Argentina have the throw. They win it through Albacete and from there gain an eighth penalty... and Dan Cole is shown the team's yellow card! He was involved while on the floor. Ten minutes in the bin.
- 33' Ashton has barely been involved so far. Penalty to Argentina.
- 32' As a grubber kick is charged down, Foden picks up and tries to find Chris Ashton on the wing... straight into touch. Unlucky.
- 31' Kick into Argentine territory by England, and they are forced to find touch in their own half.
- 30' So Argentina still lead, but are without key player and captain Contepomi, a real stalwart of Argentine rugby.
- 29' Wilkinson drags a simple one for him wide of the far upright! Perhaps he was put off by the Argentina fans this time.
- 28' Scrum reset then penalty awarded to the all blacks... no comments slagging me off, please!
- 27' England win the ball and then a scrum. Thompson and Ledesma throwing themselves at one another... it all started with a kiss! Thompson kissed his eyelid as they got to grips with each other.
- 27' And England kick to the corner! Argentina change: captain Contepomi off with a torso injury, replaced by Marcelo Bosch.
- 26' Foden with a superb break from England's half and could be in... he sends the ball out to Armitage but it bounces first and he is tackled. Penalty to England.
- 25' England turn the ball over but hooker Steve Thompson knocks on. Advantage with Argentina.
- 24' Argentina have looked powerful but also quick - they have lots of experience in the side.
- 23' Superb kick from Contepomi for touch, but it needed one hell of a big bounce.
- 22' Wing Armitage flying forward as England build. But the ball is turned over in the ruck! Tindall had it.
- 21' PENALTY FOR ARGENTINA! 6-3 ARGENTINA! Rodriguez back on kicking duties from the 10-metre line... and this one sails through to give them the lead.
- 20' Andrew Sheridan now penalised as Contepomi wriggles through a gap. Another long place kick coming up. And the next penalty will be accompanied by a yellow card.
- 19' Another long miss, this time from Contepomi. England must stop conceding these penalties though.
- 18' Delon Armitage brings the ball out of defence and England are motoring... but concede another penalty at the breakdown. Johnson furious in his box.
- 17' Rodriguez with another attempt from distance... it misses the target.
- 16' Penalty against England for not rolling away at the breakdown, second row Louis Deacon the offender.
- 15' England try a kick for the right flank but it doesn't quite come off. A battle in midfield between these two powerful sides.
- 14' Richard Wigglesworth heads back towards his own line to take a catch inside the England half. Well defended. Team Guide: Argentina
- 13' Argentina pick up a lineout like lightning and are stopped near halfway. England deal with the up-and-under a little scrappily and Wilkinson arrows a low kick to touch in Argentina territory.
- 12' PENALTY FOR ENGLAND! 3-3! Tucked between the sticks despite plenty of noise from the South Americans and their admirers in the crowd.
- 11' Rodrigo Roncero with a very high tackle on Ben Foden. He apologises. Penalty chance for Wilkinson from near the right touchline a long way out.
- 10' England penalty kicked to touch. And they look to move the ball from there and pin back their opponents.
- 9' It is long enough from Martin Rodriguez, from near halfway, but drops wide of the far post. England get away with it.
- 8' Wilkinson with a tricky kick from the restart but England cannot quite win the ball back. And England give away a third penalty for not leaving the ball alone - Easter fell into it. Warning from the ref to captain Mike Tindall - "three penalties in four minutes" .
- 7' PENALTY FOR ARGENTINA! 3-0 ARGENTINA! Right in front of the posts for Contepomi, who makes it past a century of World Cup points.
- 6' They think they are over but they are short. Julio Farias Cabello tries to go over the top, but is repelled by England. Penalty to Argentina - worrying start from Martin Johnson's boys.
- 5' Mario Ledesma's throw is taken by Manuel Carizza and they seek to bimd, but England drag it down. Argentina patient... and have a penalty. But they drive for the line...
- 4' Offside by England - and a great kick right to the corner by No.10 Contepomi!
- 3' England have their customary bigger pack, but Argentina are not far off with 900kg to their opponents' 915kg. Argentina win it but England are there already to put in tackles.
- 2' England with attacking ball in the Argentina half. The lineout is won but when it is sent towards Jonny Wilkinson, the ball is spilled. Scrum to Argentina.
- 1' Argentina kick off deliberately short through Felipe Contepomi - taken on by England.
- - The national anthems are played and we get ready for kick-off. England wearing all black.
- - I hope you've got your coffee and bacon sarnie for this one - a great match to kick off a World Cup.
- - Some key facts ahead of this second Group B match. Argentina v England factbox
- - The match kicks off at 9:30am UK time, so join us then!
- - While England look like this: Ben Foden, Chris Ashton, Manu Tuilagi, Mike Tindall (captain), Delon Armitage, Jonny Wilkinson, Richard Wigglesworth; Andrew Sheridan, Steve Thompson, Dan Cole, Louis Deacon, Courtney Lawes, Tom Croft, James Haskell, Nick Easter; replacements: Dylan Hartley, Matt Stevens, Tom Palmer, Tom Wood, Ben Youngs, Toby Flood, Matt Banahan
- - Argentina line up like this: Martin Rodriguez, Gonzalo Camacho, Gonzalo Tiesi, Santiago Fernandez, Horacio Agulla, Felipe Contepomi (captain), Nicolas Vergallo; Rodrigo Roncero, Mario Ledesma, Juan Figallo, Manuel Carizza, Patricio Albacete, Julio Farias Cabello, Juan Manuel Leguizamon, Juan Fernandez Lobbe; replacements: Agustin Creevy, Martin Scelzo, Mariano Galarza, Alejandro Campos, Alfredo Lalanne, Marcelo Bosch, Juan Jose Imhoff
- - Welcome to the Otago Stadium in Dunedin, where England begin their World Cup campaign with a mouth-watering match against Argentina.

Summary

Argentina	versus	England
	Tries	Youngs 67’
	Conversions	Wilkinson 68’
Contepomi 7’, Rodriguez 20’, 45’	Penalties	Wilkinson 12’, 75’
	Drops

Live Team Line-Up

Argentina

Manager: Santiago Phelan

On the Field
- Roncero
- Ledesma
- Figallo
- Carizza
- Albacete
- Farías Cabello
- Leguizamón
- Fernández Lobbe
- Vergallo
- Contepomi
- Agulla
- Fernandez
- Tiesi
- Camacho
- Rodriguez
Subs
- Scelzo
- Bosch
- Campos
- Lalanne
- Galarza
- Creevy
- Imhoff
Injured

None

Suspended

None
England

Manager: Martin Johnson

On the Field
- Sheridan
- Thompson
- Cole
- Deacon
- Lawes
- Croft
- Haskell
- Easter
- Wilkinson
- Armitage
- Tindall
- Tuilagi
- Ashton
- Foden
Subs
- Palmer
- Stevens
- Hartley
- Flood
- Youngs
- Banahan
- Wood
Injured

None

Suspended

None