It was all going so well until England’s in-house lawyer was darting around the Twickenham concourse trying to get to the bottom of their final-whistle bust-up.
Tom Curry was accused of shoving Argentina’s coach, Felipe Contepomi, allegedly telling him to ‘f*** off’ in the tunnel as a pleasant autumn campaign came to an ugly ending.
Tempers flared and goodwill washed away. England’s flanker was labelled a bully as the South Americans claimed he showed no remorse for his tackle that injured Juan Cruz Mallia.
Curry is one of the most abrasive characters on a rugby pitch and his 30-minute Pom Squad cameo earned him no friends in the Pumas camp.
England were leading by 11 points when Curry landed a marginally late, bone-crunching tackle on Argentina’s full back after he kicked the ball, potentially rupturing the ACL in Mallia’s knee.
‘I would call it reckless,’ said Contepomi. ‘He broke his knee. Clinically it’s an ACL. But it’s not only that. Probably it’s part of his (Curry’s) nature to bully people. I was standing there in the tunnel when he came in. He tried to talk to one of our coaches, Juan Martin (Fernandez Lobbe), but we were upset. It was dangerous and I said to him “you broke his knee”.
‘Curry told me to f*** off and pushed me in the chest. Maybe it’s the way he is. I don’t know him. But after breaking someone’s knee, you need to be at least humble enough and respectful to say, “Sorry, I did something wrong”.
‘But he went the opposite way. He is 27 and strong, I’m 48 and he came and just shoved me. Luckily there was a camera there. Perhaps that caught it.’
With Richard Smith, England’s very own King’s Counsel barrister, standing at the back of the media room, Steve Borthwick found himself defending Curry’s character when the focus should have been on an 11th consecutive victory.
‘Clearly I’m aware there was an incident,’ said Borthwick. ‘I didn’t see it. I was in the changing room at the time. Anybody in this room who has had any contact with Tom Curry knows that his character is impeccable.’
If the match had not descended into chaos on the final whistle, with players piling into a scuffle from all angles, the headlines would have belonged to Max Ojomoh on his home debut. Unlike Curry, Ojomoh is known for his softer skills on the pitch.
One of the biggest selection debates in England remains around the midfield. There is not one combination that stands head-and-shoulders above the rest. They are still searching for their undisputed double act — a pairing that goes together like South Africa’s Damian De Allende and Jesse Kriel.
Gloucester’s Seb Atkinson will come into the conversation when he recovers from injury. Benhard Janse van Rensburg could be the solution if World Rugby approve his eligibility switch from South Africa to England in the New Year. Fraser Dingwall has had mixed moments this autumn and Ojomoh seized his opportunity in the final outing of the year.
The match was largely played in good spirits. There were no cards until Alex Coles was sin-binned late on, although Contepomi took umbrage at a high shot on Pablo Matera that was not checked by the officials.
George Ford opened the scoring with a trademark drop goal, before Ojomoh nailed the first try of the day. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso chased Ben Spencer’s box kick and Ojomoh was on hand to pick up the scraps, gathering the loose ball to score from 40 metres.
Under Borthwick, England have become cute at exploiting laws. Hookers have been getting away with wonky line-outs, knowing they will not be penalised if the opposition do not contest.
Here, England threw up Maro Itoje almost as a token gesture, stealing a couple of cheap scrums as a result.
With 16 minutes on the clock, Ojomoh guided a perfect crossfield kick into the try-scoring tracks of Feyi-Waboso. Both 10s missed shots at goal and Argentina settled for just three points from the boot of Tomas Albornoz in the first-half. England were coasting but Luke Cowan-Dickie’s fumble meant they failed to score a third try before half-time.
The third quarter was not so good for the hosts. English discipline slipped, conceding five penalties to one. Powerful centre Justo Piccardo scored a try and Alobornoz kicked a couple of penalties after Elliot Daly dropped a high ball. Ford missed a drop goal but Ojomoh, on the pitch where his father Steve used to wear the England jersey, pulled off an offload from the deck for a Henry Slade try.
Outside the stadium, merchandisers were cashing in on Henry Pollock scarves. The sight of his bleached hair arriving in the second half has become a popular sight in these parts and he won a turnover to kill off an Argentinian attack.
Ford’s late penalty provided some breathing space before Mallia suffered his injury. Rodrigo Isgro scored in the 80th minute and the Pumas launched one final attack, rumbling through more than 20 phases. Previous England teams may have folded but their defence clung on, winning a firm vote of confidence from the 80,000 in the crowd.
The match ended with a mass scuffle, with Pollock’s flash of blond hair in the middle of the grasp of Curry and Argentina’s Santiago Grondona. England secured their first clean sweep since 2021 and they made sure the celebrations did not go down quietly.
