England held off a fierce late Argentina rally to win 31-24 in Santiago del Estero, with the decisive moment coming when television match official Brett Cronan overturned an on-field try award to Pumas wing Bautista Delguy in the final play, ruling he had stepped into touch. The result matters beyond the scoreline: England played the closing stages with 13 men after a string of yellow cards, and the win eases pressure on head coach Steve Borthwick, whose position had come under scrutiny following England's worst Six Nations campaign since 2000.

A combined seven yellow cards were shown, with England reduced to 13 players twice in a bruising second half after building a 16-point half-time lead through tries from Tommy Freeman and two from Ben Earl. Argentina, who wore shirts echoing their 1986 World Cup kit, hit back through Marcus Smith-conceding chaos and tries including a penalty try, but ill-discipline of their own blunted their comeback before Justo Piccardo's late score and Delguy's disallowed effort. England's tally now stands at 14 yellow cards and one red in their last eight matches, but victories over Fiji and Argentina this summer, sandwiching an expected defeat by world champions South Africa, have put Borthwick's side in a stronger position ahead of November's Nations Championship fixtures.