The inexcusable moment that cost England the match
Eddie Jones did not seem overly concerned by England’s loss to Argentina on Sunday at Twickenham, saying his side dominated the game and should have won. But they didn’t.
The reason they didn’t win was because Argentina hit them with two quick tries after half time- one a stroke of brilliance, the other a stroke of luck.
England led 16-12 at half time and seemed fairly in control of the game, but a sublime move on 47 minutes put the Pumas in for their first try and gave them a one point lead. The game was very much in the balance at that point, but soon after Argentina fly-half Santiago Carreras pounced on a loose pass from Owen Farrell to run in for a try and give England an eight point lead.
That happens in a match, but the response from the England players is something that has irritated quite a few people online.
This is a photo of the exact moment Carreras picked up the ball:
As you can see from the picture, there are plenty of players that could have chased back. However, Freddie Steward (on the far right) was the only one that did, and got very close to stopping him. Instead, Owen Farrell was complaining about a knock on that did not exist, which obviously convinced Jack Nowell not to run back either. With both Steward and Nowell chasing back from different angles, there is a very good chance the try was not going to be scored.
‘Play to the whistle’ is a phrase that is thrown about a lot in rugby but one that the England players certainly did not adhere to in the loss. Jones suggested after the match that there must have been a knock on as a player like Farrell doesn’t throw a pass like that. Whether there was or there wasn’t, the whistle did not blow.
Take a look at the try:
