Post-match scuffle between England and Los Pumas spills into tunnel

A bad-tempered finish to England’s narrow 27-23 win over Argentina boiled over after the final whistle as tempers flared between players from both sides in an ugly melee.

England just about held on for a rousing win after dominating for large parts of their final Autumn Nations Series contest, repelling a late Argentinian comeback that echoed the vistitors’ remarkable win over Scotland a week earlier in Murrayfield.

The tension of a match that went down to the wire carried straight after the final whistle.

The confrontation appeared to spill over from the pitch and into the Twickenham tunnel after officials brought an end to the initial brouhaha.

What began as a brief bout of pushing near halfway escalated with Tom Curry and Henry Pollock involved from the English side, drawing in several Argentina forwards as frustrations from a bruising contest finally snapped.

Pollock and Los Pumas flanker Juan Martín González Grondona were seen shoving each other in the immediate aftermath, the pair jostling as teammates tried to drag them away from the growing scuffle.

The flashpoint appears rooted in the collision that forced Juan Cruz Mallía from the field late on.

Curry’s questionable hit ended the fullback’s night, but despite heated protests from Los Pumas, no card was shown.

I can see why the Argentinians feel hard done by, Curry knows what he’s doing pic.twitter.com/Wyj6V3FFlM

— Andy Goode (@AndyGoode10) November 23, 2025

Felipe Contepomi’s side were then forced to finish with 14 men as a result.

Curry – the villain of the piece for the Argies – looked particularly aggrieved as he walked off from the initial round of handbag, pushing past unused replacement Marcus Smith as the Harlequins player tried to console him.

Television cameras then caught skipper Maro Itoje sprinting back towards the tunnel entrance as the melee continued off-screen, with stewards and backroom staff rushing in to separate players.

It looked like the Sale Sharks back-row continued to get involved further down the tunnel away from the cameras as he made his way to the changing rooms. Although it’s unclear how the tunnel incident played out, RugbyPass understands that Curry and Contepomi were involved in a physical altercation.

Tunnel scraps aren’t exactly rare in rugby, with Owen Farrell and Scotland’s Ryan Wilson clashing before England’s Calcutta Cup defeat in 2018, and Johnny Sexton becoming embroiled in a heated post-match argument with Ronan O’Gara in the tunnel after Leinster’s Heineken Champions Cup final loss to La Rochelle in 2023.