Match Report – England 27 – 23 Argentina

England defeated Argentina at Twickenham with goals from Max Ojomo, Immanuel Fay-Waboso and Henry Slade. Pumas fought back from 17-0 down to make it 17-16, then closed to 27-23 before their final attack – England breathed a sigh of relief as Argentina were given the ball back.

Max Ojomo starred in his first home start as England held off Argentina’s attack and clinched the Autumn Nations series with a 27-23 victory.

The 25-year-old Bath center, who made his England debut in the United States in the summer, scored his first try for England and assisted Immanuel Fay-Waboso and Henry Slade for two tries.

George Ford added a drop goal, three conversions and a penalty, but England cut their 17-0 lead to 17-16 with 14 minutes remaining.

A try from Justo Picardo and performances from Tomas Albornoz and Santiago Carreras brought Pumas close to closing the gap, but Slade’s try ensured victory for the home side, but Rodrigo Isguro’s 80th-minute goal gave Argentina hope in the closing stages.

Carreras then made a sensational break in dead time and England were in breach, but the Pumas were defeated by England’s giant reliever in a last-gasp five-metre lineout.

Max Ojomo enjoyed a memorable day as he scored one goal and scored two more tries as England beat Argentina.

Argentina created the first clear chance of the tournament by winning a penalty for the head in a scrum to set up a five-metre lineout, but captain Julian Montoya was dealt a decisive blow when his throw was deflected.

Instead, it was England who took the lead in the ninth minute with Ford scoring a drop goal from closer range than his two goals against the All Blacks last week.

A minute later, Ojomo took advantage of two Pumas spills and intercepted the ball with only grass in front of him, giving England a 10-0 lead.

Ojomo scored England’s first try in the 10th minute.

Argentina were mostly on the attack for the next 15 minutes or so, but loosehead Thomas Gallo had two great try chances that came and went. He first knocked on a breathtaking pass from Simon Benitez Cruz a meter from the tryline, then was stopped by Luke Cowan-Dickie.

Argentina looked like they would score with a close-range penalty in the 21st minute, but Carreras made a terrible mistake hitting the post.

England seized the advantage less than five minutes later, with Ojomo finishing off a fine kick pass and Fay-Waboso dashing in to score his second try.

Immanuel Fay-Waboso converts Ojomo’s crossfield kick to score England’s second try.

Argentina missed a try when Matias Moroni slipped through and his last pass coincidentally went over Ford’s head.

Five minutes from half-time, Argentina finally upset the scoreboard with a long-range penalty from Albornoz’s left shot.

Ben Earl’s breakdown penalty win saw Ford go wide and miss another three-point chance, while Cowan-Dickie hit the try line on the final play of the first half and had his try canceled.

Five minutes into the second half, Pumas got back into the game with a brilliant score from center Piccardo, who broke through from deep in the 22nd minute to get things moving and score with the post.

Justo Picardo scores for Argentina as Pumas continue to fight back.

Argentina quickly reduced the gap to England to just four points in the 50th minute when Albornoz punished an ill-advised breakdown by the hosts.

England then received an official warning for persistent foul play in 22 games, and Carreras converted a penalty to cut England’s lead to 17-16.

England’s scrum penalty secured a big win against the heads and calmed a tense ship, but Ford could only send a drop goal wide.

With 14 minutes left in the game, Slade recovered the crucial goal of the game after a lineout throw to the back of the field and an exquisite offload from Ojomo.

Henry Slade offloads Ojomo to score England’s vital third try.

After Argentina committed a foul on a rolling maul, Ford extended the lead to 11 points with a tee shot with eight minutes remaining.

Argentina already finished with just 14 players on their bench after flanker Tom Curry was penalized for causing an injury when he beat Juan Cruz María in the dying minutes. Then, in a frenzy, Joaquín Oviedo’s second-half try was canceled out, with Alex Coles in the sin-bin and Isguro substituted just before the 80th minute to ensure a restart and England hung on.

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Argentina manager Felipe Contepomi accused “bully” Tom Curry of pushing him into the tunnel after England’s 27-23 win at Twickenham.

Ojomo: I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.

Player of the Match Ojomo told TNT Sports:

“Class. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.

“I’m really happy to win. I’m not bragging, I’m just understanding my role and waiting for the opportunity to play that role today. I had a lot of support, so I’m glad I was able to bring that to the field.”

“The boys gave me a lot of energy all week.”

England prop Ellis Genge told TNT Sports:

“We’re very happy. We were pretty bad at the end and it was a heart-in-mouth story, but the last time we won 4-4 in the fall was in 2017, so it’s crazy to be a part of that.”

“You don’t get to be like that very often. We have to work hard. It would have been easy to go downhill and throw in the towel this week. I’m so proud of this group.”

What’s next?

Following wins over Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina in the autumn, England next play in the first leg of the 2026 Six Nations, when they host Wales on Saturday 7 February (kick-off 4.40pm).

Argentina’s season is now over and they will not play again until July 2026, when they host Scotland on Saturday, July 4, when rugby’s new Nations Championship begins.