England hold off Argentina fightback to earn win

Ojomoh's first and only other cap came against the United States in the summer

Quilter Nations Series

England (17) 27

Tries: Ojomoh, Feyi-Waboso, Slade Cons: Ford (3) Pens: Ford Drop: Ford

Argentina (3) 23

Tries: Piccardo, Isgro Cons: Albornoz, Carreras Pens: Albornoz (2), Carreras

England just about rode out a second-half fightback from Argentina as an eye-catching Twickenham debut from Max Ojomoh helped extend their winning streak to 11 successive Tests.

Ojomoh scored one try and made another with a crossfield kick in the first half as England stretched out into a 17-3 lead at the break.

Their advantage could have been even more emphatic had hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie not had a try ruled out for a slight knock-on on the final play of the first half.

Argentina, who fought back from 21 points down to beat Scotland last weekend, crowbarred their way back into the contest though.

Justo Piccardo slid in before a pair of penalties from Tomas Albornoz and Santiago Carreras reduced the deficit to 17-16 on the hour.

England seemed to recapture the momentum just in time.

A big break from Alex Coles set up a platform from which Ojomoh popped up for Henry Slade to stroll in under the posts.

George Ford's conversion and penalty pushed England 11 points clear, only for Rodrigo Isgro's converted try in the final minute to set up a grandstand last play.

The Pumas, needing a try to snatch victory, pounded away, with support from a small, but loud collection of fans in the stands.

However, a final line-out, within 10 metres of the England line, went astray to wild cheers from the majority of the 80,807 spectators and Alex Mitchell kicked to the stands to ensure his England side successfully round off a 2025 that has featured only one defeat, a reverse against Dublin in February.

Ojomoh makes flair-filled statement

Centre partnership Ojomoh and Slade combined sweetly for England's decisive final try

As England fans caught their breath after an unexpectedly tense finale, Ojomoh collected the player of the match champagne.

The 25-year-old, making only his second England appearance after a debut against the United States in the summer, looked immediately at home as he inserted himself into England's midfield debate.

Afforded a chance by Fraser Dingwall's injury against the All Blacks, the Bath centre took only 10 minutes to gleefully dive in at the same end he had scored at against Leicester in June's Prem final.

The Argentina back three had made a mess of fielding a high kick with full-back Juan Cruz Mallia scooping a loose ball off the floor - but into the hands of Ojomoh, who had anticipated well and scooted in untouched.

His assist for Immanuel Feyi-Waboso was arguably more impressive.

As Ford threatened to disappear down a blind-side cul-de-sac, Ojomoh provided his fly-half with an escape route, accepting a pass, switching play and punting perfectly across field for his wing to streak in without breaking stride for 17-0 on 27 minutes.

There had been only glimmers from Argentina until then. A forward thrust was held up over the line by Cowan-Dickie, Carreras hit a post with a penalty and Matias Moroni carved through the middle, only to throw a potential try-scoring pass into Ford's face.

As the Pumas come to the end of their international season, the workload seemed to being weighing heavy on their squad, the vast majority of whom play for clubs in England and France, giving them a near 12-month season.

Albornoz's penalty was all they had to show for their efforts.

England finished the half turning down a kick at goal and seeming to turn out the lights on the contest when Cowan-Dickie burrowed over from the subsequent driven line-out.

A try would have extended the hosts' lead to 22-3, however the video official picked up on a slight knock-on by Cowan-Dickie as he grounded, causing the score to be wiped off.

It was a costly few inches.

Argentina reignited the spirit they had shown at Murrayfield, crossing four minutes after the restart as Piccardo rounded off a move started by his own break to make it 17-10.

Six minutes later, Guy Pepper seemed to have done enough to secure a turnover having clamped down over the top of a breakdown but referee Pierre Brousset spotted Maro Itoje failing to release the tackled man.

Albornoz added another three for the visitors.

England head coach Steve Borthwick sent on replacements Will Stuart, Fin Baxter, Tom Curry and Henry Pollock to try to stem the tide but Argentina continued to advance regardless.

Carreras knocked over another penalty to reduce England's advantage, once so secure, to just a single point.

Twickenham was suddenly twitchy. The atmosphere increased with the peril though, as fans responded to the contest emerging in front of them.

Mitchell's arrival off the bench cranked up the tempo and a sharp inside ball from Ford sent Coles galloping deep into Pumas territory.

England went for the corner rather than the posts as their pressure earned a penalty and were rewarded when Pollock claimed at the back of the line-out, Ojomoh waded through a hit from club team-mate Carreras and flipped an offload out of the back of his hand for a waiting Slade to saunter in.

A 72nd-minute penalty appeared to have made the match safe but Argentina's second wind wasn't blown out quite yet. Isgro crossed and, trailing by four points, the visitors had England's defence stretched thin with the clock in the red.

England survived by the skin of their teeth however and, after being edged out of a string of tight matches in 2024, they have found a happy habit of emerging from the end game victorious.

England: Steward; Feyi-Waboso, Slade, Ojomoh, Daly; Ford (vc), Spencer; Genge (vc), Cowan-Dickie, Opoku-Fordjour, Itoje (c), Coles, Pepper, Underhill, Earl.

Replacements: Dan, Baxter, Stuart, Ewels, T Curry, Pollock, Mitchell, M Smith.

Argentina: Mallia (vc); Isgro, Moroni, Piccardo, Delguy; Albornoz, Benitez Cruz; Gallo, Montoya (c), Delgado, Petti, Rubiolo, Gonzalez, Kremer, S Grondona.

Replacements: Ruiz, Wenger, Rapetti, Molina, Matera (vc), Oviedo, Moyano, S Carreras.