The second match of England's autumn campaign, against Argentina at Twickenham, was a mirror image of the first game against Australia.
Last week, England were a disjointed team in the first half but played much more solidly and cohesively in the second. Today's match saw them play controlled and dominant rugby in the first half, but almost fall apart in the second. After dominating possession and territory for 40 minutes and gaining an advantage of 24-6 at the break, they completely lost their way and allowed the Argentines to dominate the second half. Two penalties reduced the deficit to 24-12 and a little luck could easily have seen it reduced to vanishing point as England really looked second rate. In the end, Ben Morgan took his chance to break through the Argentinian line with just a couple of minutes to go and the final score was 31-12; to say that this flattered England, especially after their miserable second half performance, is a huge understatement.
Next week it's the turn of the All Blacks and there can be little doubt that England will have to play much better for a full 80 minutes if they're to stand any chance of even staying close to the World Champions.
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