England player ratings vs Argentina | Nations Championship 2026

England player ratings:  England rounded off a troubling season with a dramatic 31-24 victory over Argentina in round three of the Nations Championship in Santiago del Estero on Saturday.

Steve Borthwick’s side started the match in electric fashion and did not relent throughout the first half, entering the sheds at the break with a 19-3 lead.

It was a completely different story in the second half, however, with England’s discipline costing them again with four yellow cards, which saw them playing with 13 players on two different occasions.

There was another twist in the second half, though, with the Pumas reduced to 13 themselves in the final quarter, allowing the visitors to pull away, only for yet another twist as the Pumas surged back.

It was an emotionally charged match after an eventful week between the two nations, as England Rugby were able to avenge their footballing counterparts. Here’s how the players rated:

15 Marcus Smith – 7.5
Stood up defensively, with his positioning perfect, to force a knock-on following a Pumas break in the first half, but was bumped away by Tomás Albornoz early in the second half. Got his hands on the ball a lot in the 15-metre channel, although sometimes looked indecisive in that area. Had another stint at scrum-half again, and didn’t let himself down again either. His return to full-back saw him score in the corner to extend England’s lead at a much-needed point.

14 Tommy Freeman – 8
Borthwick may want to turn him into a centre, but each performance on the wing for England makes the case very hard to play Freeman anywhere else. Opened the scoring by plucking a Fin Smith crossfield kick in the air. Saved England from trouble with a counter-attack after an Argentinian break, which saw his team-mates penning the Pumas in their 22 after a perfectly-weighted kick. His right boot caused plenty of trouble down either flank, putting a kick in on one occasion which Fin Smith knocked over the line, and another which led to a five-metre scrum for England.

13 Henry Slade – 8
Key cog in a backline that looked the slickest it has looked in months in the first half, but was required to roll his sleeves up and tackle for much of the second half. His covering tackle at one point prevented a try, only for Alex Coles to slap the offload away for a penalty try. Put in the match-winning tackle in the final play on Bautista Delguy.

12 Seb Atkinson – 7.5
Dovetailed well with Fin Smith, giving his fly-half space with his distribution right at the line. Defensively, he was hugely effective as well, even winning a turnover at one point, and putting in a huge 20 tackles. Stood up in the lengthy defensive set in the final play of the game.

11 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso – 9
Ran a nice line inside Fin Smith to make the first break of the match and that continued, beating 12 defenders throughout the match. Pinballed his way out of tackles with almost every carry, and has come close to mastering the ‘swat’ with his leg-like arms. Another explosive carry saw him put Ben Earl in for England’s second try. He simply could not be stopped. Was quiet in the third quarter of the match, where the Pumas had all the momentum, but he popped up to deliver what turned out to be the decisive try with a swerving run. Aerial work may still need work, with Argentina getting some success in the contestables.

10 Fin Smith – 7.5
Had the backline attacking with far more purpose and precision right from the off. Put Feyi-Waboso in for a break minutes before a sumptuous cross-field kick to club-mate Tommy Freeman for the opening try of the match (that was not the only time he made that link). His attacking influence died out as the match went on – including a stint injured – but he is more than adept at defending, making 12 tackles.

9 Jack van Poortvliet – 6.5
Harried and pressurised the Argentine backfield to force a five-metre scrum that England scored from. Sin-binned after 50 minutes for an intentional knock-on – yet another yellow card for England and at a really inopportune time when they were under pressure. He immediately made amends once he returned, playing with tempo and picking some perfect passes to open up the Argentine defence on the left flank, and then pick out Marcus Smith in the opposite corner.

1 Ellis Genge – 7
Burst through the Argentine defence after 20 minutes, and carried with some real venom. Scrummaged with that same kind of animosity, but that resulted in him being pinged by Angus Gardner at one point for not driving straight. That did not deter him, however, with a brutal drive five metres from Argentina’s line effectively assisting Ben Earl’s second try. Returned late on, after Emmanuel Iyogun’s yellow card, and was actually pinged at the scrum – shouldn’t judge him on that given the pressure England’s six-man pack were under.

2 Jamie George – 6
Had the lineout running perfectly during his 50 minutes on the field, and was busy enough in defence, but his contribution in attack is largely reduced these days to clearing players out.

3 Joe Heyes – 8.5
Part of a huge defensive effort in the opening quarter, repelling the Pumas on their line. Teamed up with George Martin in a number of collisions, which inevitably resulted in the carrier going backwards. It didn’t look like it was going to be his day at the scrum, with a penalty conceded in the opening exchanges, but he smartened up and started to get some noticeable dominance there, chiefly as England drove over for their third try. Twenty tackles in a 65-minute shift was immense from a tighthead – the kind of numbers he was producing during England’s 12-match winning run.

4 Alex Coles – 8
His yellow card, and penalty try conceded, had England well and truly on the ropes shortly before the hour mark. Prior to that, and once he returned, his defensive contribution was immense, doubling up with two tackles in a matter of seconds on multiple occasions, and finishing the match with a stunning 35 tackles.

5 George Martin – 7
Made good use of his shoulders early on, often showing how destructive he can be as an auxiliary tackler. He was, however, ill-disciplined, particularly in the first half, but tightened things up in the second half when England were struggling. Played longer this week, 65 minutes, and his numbers were mightily impressive with 20 tackles and another 10 tackles.

6 Ollie Chessum – 7
Needlessly gave away a penalty after England had scored for fighting – try still stood – but that maybe showed how fired-up he was, and that actually showed with his carrying. A standout moment was surely his lineout steal five metres from his line, when England were down to 14 (for the first time), and was continually England’s main option at the lineout.

7 Guy Pepper – 8
A glaring fault of England’s was their inability to challenge at the breakdown at all against the Springboks. Borthwick clearly identified Pepper as a solution to that and the Bath man has helped in that department. He wasn’t necessarily securing bags of turnovers, but slowed down Pumas ball. With that said, one turnover in his 22 relieved a mountain of pressure on England during their period when they were down to 13. Finished with 24 tackles to his name, many of which were made in the final minutes in a wild scramble.

8 Ben Earl – 8
On hand to support Feyi-Waboso to score England’s second try (which was a wise course of action given how well the winger performed). Had his second following a destructive scrummaging effort. Another day, another match where Earl tops England’s carry count – at least until he left the field on 55 minutes.

Replacements
16 Luke Cowan-Dickie – 6
The Sale Shark’s defensive industry was needed immediately upon his arrival, and he chipped in with plenty of tackles. Lineout functioned perfectly as well.

17 Emmanuel Iyogun – 6
Entered the fray on debut with England under huge pressure in their own 22, and settled straight in with some big shots. His debut ended on a sour note with a yellow card for being offside.

18 George Kloska – 6
A late call-up to the squad following an injury to Asher Opoku-Fordjour, and found himself having to scrummage with a six-man scrum late on. Held on, just about, despite getting marched back a couple of times.

19 Tom Curry – 6
Thirteen tackles in a shade over 10 minutes on the field was a nice, and much-needed return, particularly in the final play of the game.

20 Henry Pollock – 7
Replaced Earl when England were in desperate need of a fillip, and to his credit, he unsurprisingly provided some moments to help England, including a high ball won, and a thunderous kick from his own 22. His carries were damaging too, often getting beyond the gainline. There’s a lot of hype around Pollock, but he came up with the goods. His yellow card for offside put his side under pressure late on.

21 Ben Spencer – 6
Came on for the final 10 minutes to help steer England to victory during a tricky period. Didn’t have a lot to do in possession.

22 Benhard Janse van Rensburg – 6
His two stints on the field were largely rear-guard actions, which culminated in an injury.

23 Noah Caluori – N/A
Given a matter of seconds at the end, but did slip off a tackle in Delguy’s attempted score.