England 18 – 25 Argentina: 2006 Autumn Internationals
November 11th 2006 – Twickenham Stadium, London
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.
England 51 – 0 Argentina: 1990 Argentina Summer Tour of British Isles
November 3rd 1990 – Twickenham Stadium, London
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.