"Bronze Medal Battle" Top 5 England vs Argentina Matches Ahead of Rugby World Cup Third Place Play Off

This match will mark the end of the international career for England vice-captain Courtney Lawes, with several other stalwarts also reportedly looking towards the end of their time in the red rose.

Steve Borthwick’s side will look to finish their time in France as they began, having started their tournament off with a 27-10 win over Los Pumas in Pool D. The sharpshooting of George Ford was the decisive difference in Marseille, as the fly half slotted each and every one of England’s points from the boot.

This magnificent performance saw Ford heralded as ‘Saint George’, as he channelled his inner Jonny Wilkinson with a trifecta of drop goals. From then on, England completed a clean sweep of their pool stage opponents, with wins over Japan, Chile and Samoa. A bruising contest followed in their quarter-final win against Fiji, but their semi-final test proved to be a step to far.

Despite leading the match for 69 minutes, England fell at the final hurdle against the Springboks. South Africa forged a late comeback through an RG Snyman try, with Handre Pollard slotting the match-winning penalty through the posts. Heartbreak for England with the 16-15 loss, but their campaign is not yet finished as bronze medals await.

Argentina progressed out of Pool D with England, and hit their revered top gear in a quarter-final victory over Wales. They then sunk back into their shells, as a relentless All Blacks side ran riot with a 44-7 semi-final thrashing. New Zealand and South Africa meet in Saturday’s competition closer, but England and Argentina are the supporting act on Friday night in Paris.

So, ahead of this Friday’s Rugby World Cup Third-Place Play Off, here are the five best previous meetings between England and Argentina.

We commence this reverse-chronological list with the most recent encounter between England and Argentina. Taking place in last year's Autumn Internationals, Argentina headed to Twickenham riding a wave of inspired form. The 2022 Rugby Championship took place earlier that Summer, and saw Los Pumas record two historic wins over Australia and New Zealand.

Argentina's 48-17 bonus point win over the Wallabies was their biggest in history, and the following weekend's 18-25 away triumph over the All Blacks was Argentina's first on New Zealand soil. Dedicated Northern Hemisphere fans would have been shocked to see Argentina clinch victory against England that Autumn, yet even those with a fleeting interest in Southern Hemisphere action knew they were in for a battle against the All Blacks beating Pumas.

Head Coach Michael Cheika orchestrated a masterful gameplan, instructing Emiliano Boffelli to go kick-for-kick with England's Owen Farrell. Despite the high score-line, this match was far from a spectacle, with just three tries seeing the remaining match dissolve into an ill-disciplined kicking contest. Despite the try-scoring efforts of England's Jack van Poortvliet and Joe Cokanasiga, Boffelli's try and subsequent sharpshooting kept the score-board ticking over for Argentina's first win at Twickenham in 18 years.

Prior to France, the latest Rugby World Cup meeting between England and Argentina took place just four years ago, with England taking the victory as the sides met in Japan. The soon to be Rugby World Cup finalists ran out a resounding 39-10 victory over Los Pumas, in what was a difficult day for the otherwise revolutionary Argentina Head Coach Mario Ledesma.

What was then Eddie Jones' side crossed over for six tries, with Gloucester winger Jonny May getting the scoring underway after just nine minutes of action. First half tries followed through Elliot Daly and Ben Youngs (more about him shortly), yet Owen Farrell missed his first three attempts at the posts. The Saracen swapped over his shooting boots at half-time, and went on to slot the following three conversion attempts.

Farrell added the extras for George Ford, Jack Nowell and Luke Cowan-Dickie's tries, as England hit top gear against their South American opponents. A consolation try from Pumas winger Matias Moroni was a slight saving grace, yet it would not be enough for their progression out of the Pool, following an earlier defeat to France. Les Bleus joined England in the knock-out stages, with Argentina hopeful of righting those wrongs with a spot in the quarter-final more than achievable this time around.

We rewind further into the history of this fixture, with England and Argentina once again clashing in Pool C of the Rugby World Cup. This match is best remembered for the Rugby World Cup debut of one Ben Youngs, as his match-winning try salvaged a match taht looked to be heading towards an upset defeat in New Zealand. With the scores deadlocked at 9-6 in favour of Argentina, England Head Coach Martin Johnson brought on Youngs for Richard Wigglesworth, to make his maiden World Cup appearance 50 minutes into the match.

The stalemate remained for most of the second half, and with little over 10 minutes remaining, time was running out for England in their 2011 Rugby World Cup opener. That was until Youngs saw a gap in the exhausted Argentina defence, and slipped his way through to score in a style that has since become customary with England's all-time appearance holder. Jonny Wilkinson slotted the subsequent conversion, and added a follow-up penalty to ensure the victory over Argentina.

Both England and Argentina went on to progress out of the pool stage back in 2011, with England topping the group and Los Pumas in runners-up. History could well be repeated in just a few weeks time, with the all-important match in Pool D being the first fixture on the cards. However, neither England or Argentina progressed any further than the quarter-finals back in 2011, with Martin Johnson's men beaten by France, and Los Pumas dumped out rather unceremoniously by the All Blacks.

Now we cast our minds back to 2006, in what was a truly dark day for English rugby, and one of unbelievable celebration for Argentina. This 18-25 away victory marked Argentina's first ever win over a reigning Rugby World Cup champion, as England were the current holders of the Web Ellis Trophy following the heroics of 2003. However, this Twickenham meeting saw Argentina get the better of and England side, who seemed far from the unstoppable force of Sydney from three years prior.

England were in a definite pitfall stage with Andy Robinson at the helm, with this match optimising the poor performances heading into the infamous 2007 Rugby World Cup campaign. Robertson won just nine of his 22 matches in charge of England, with this first-ever Twickenham defeat to Argentina setting of the sands of time for his stint in charge. Robertson was sacked just 16 days later, after England ended their Autumn Nations Series with defeat to South Africa.

Argentine centre Federicho Todeschini came off the bench after just 25 minutes, and replaced Gonzalo Tiesi at inside centre. This was the most impactful replacement of the day, as Todeschini scored Argentina's sole try of the match, and added a further 14 points from the boot. Felipe Contempomi's brace of penalties extended Los Pumas' lead, which England could not fight back from. Consolation tries from Paul Sackey and Ian Balshaw kept the match competitive, yet the resulting loss was a milestone for England low points.

Ending on a high here for England fans, as we take a look at the record margin of victory between the two sides. This shut-out 51-0 landslide came at a time when Argentina were far from the Rugby Championship contenders that we see today. Los Pumas were 22 years away from being added into the expanding Tri Nations Championship, and were a tier two side out to break new ground on a tour of the British and Irish Isles.

This match was the fifth fixture on Argentina's tour, as they headed to England after navigating their way around Ireland. Expectations were low for Argentina, after they had taken defeats to Ireland 'B', and the senior side, albeit with a victory over Ireland Students thrown in between. A victory over Eastern Counties preluded the clash at Twickenham, yet Los Pumas were ill-prepared for this mis-match with some of the greats of the English amateur era.

A hat-trick from Rory Underwood, two for Jeremy Guscott and one each for John Hall and Richard Hill established a healthy points tally. Argentina dropped to 14 men after prop Federico Mendez was shown a red card, as the match went from bad to worse for the tourists. Some 33 years later, the 51-point margin of victory stands as the record setting win, with all eyes now turning to the upcoming Rugby World Cup Third Place Play Off, for the next chapter in the England and Argentine rugby history.