How could it possibly get worse? Surely a win would give rise to hope and optimism ahead of the visit of New Zealand this Saturday. Or maybe not. As the team trudged off at the final whistle and Johnson faced the inevitable media scrum, the utter despondency of the England camp was obvious for all to see.
I’d been talking during the week about how important a win against the Pumas would be for confidence in the build up to New Zealand, however on Saturday’s evidence the team is in need of much more than simply results.
England scraped to a 16-9 victory against Argentina but the manner of the performance was thoroughly disappointing. There was a lack of self-belief and ambition on show as the England faithful, packed inside Twickenham, were subjected to a painstakingly disjointed spectacle. The chorus of boos that greeted the half time whistle was a chilling reminder for England, if ever they needed one, just how poor they had been in the first 40 minutes.
The game had started brightly enough when Wilkinson, as was the case against Australia, opened proceedings with an early drop goal to put England 3-0 to the good. However England’s inability to take charge of games at the moment once again let them down as silly errors began to creep in. Martin Rodriguez leveled the scores with a penalty before Wilkinson put England ahead 6-3 with a long-range effort.
Ugo Monye, playing out of position at full back for the second week running, was rapidly having a game to forget. Yes, some of the kicks were high, and yes, the ball was swirling around but you have to feel a specialist full back, namely Ben Foden, would have done better in the same situation. Monye was guilty of a number of knock-ons in the first half however he was ably supported by the ill discipline being shown in the England pack. 9-9 at half time and England still had much to do.
With the boos still ringing in their ears and with Monye moved to the wing, you would have been mistaken for thinking England would explode out of the box. Again the game was scrappy and both goal kickers spurned relatively easy chances to put their teams ahead.
Argentine captain and powerhouse Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe was dictating play as the English scrum was dominated by the South American visitors. Lobbe showed Toulan teammate Wilkinson exactly how to transfer club form to the international arena.
With an air of tension hovering over Twickenham as the game meandered towards the final ten minutes, Matt Banahan finally gave the guys some breathing space as he crossed for England’s first try this autumn.
Lewis Moody played a vital role in the try, offloading the ball to Banahan at the perfect moment and his overall contribution during the game was excellent. He was England’s best player by a country mile and it would have been good to see some of his teammates follow his lead.
Argentina refused to give up and ensured a nervy final period for the home side as they camped themselves inside the English 22. Thankfully England held on but if Argentina had come away with a draw I don’t think there would have been too many complaints from the home side. Indeed had one of Felipe Contepomi or Juan Martin Hernandez been fit then I’m almost positive it would have been a different story.
So where does English rugby go from here? Well firstly there is the small matter of the All Blacks to visit Twickenham on Saturday. Whilst they may have missed out on their fifth straight Tri-Nations title earlier in the year, England will certainly be up against it come 2.30pm on Saturday.
The New Zealanders have a vastly experienced team and in Richie McCaw they have one of the great captains of the modern era. The return of Dan Carter, after his one week suspension for a dangerous tackle on Welshman Martin Roberts in Cardiff, is a major boost. England must get in Carter’s face early and not allow him time to pick holes in their defence which, on his day, he is capable of doing at ease.
The addition of Simon Shaw to the team after injury will give England a boost up front and if they can keep it tight for the first half you never know what might happen. It’s a tough game and probably one Johnson could do without at the present time but England must remain positive.
After the purple shirt fiasco against Argentina, England will be back in white and looking to channel that colour into their performance. If they can do that, Twickenham will be a happy place again come Saturday evening, regardless of the score.
