"It ruined my night" – England legend Will Greenwood turns on Steve Borthwick

Sunday, 19 July 2026 at 19:46

byRugby Rucker

Will Greenwood has questioned Steve Borthwick's handling of his players after England's dramatic 31-24 victory over Argentina, while also branding the match "an absolute joke".

, Greenwood praised England's result but criticised their discipline, inconsistency and the controversial finish.

The Telegraph

⭐ Save us to your Google Favourites for nonstop RUCK content!

'A rod for your own back'

Greenwood believes England continue to undermine themselves with needless ill-discipline and suggested Borthwick isn't helping by repeatedly giving players second chances.

"Some daft decisions by lads who should know better. My big issue is they keep being given second chances by the boss and being sent back out to play after their yellow, which for me makes a rod for your own back."

He described England as "Jekyll and Hyde", adding:

"There will be a chunk of terrible rugby and, for 20 minutes at the start of the second half, it was maybe the worst rugby of the year."

'An absolute joke of a game'

Greenwood was equally scathing about the spectacle itself after a contest that stretched beyond two-and-a-half hours.

"What an absolute joke of a game that was between Argentina and England. It was everything I hate about rugby."

He added:

"A 2½-hour match with total confusion, misinterpretation, disagreements between officials, players getting on at each other... It ruined my night."

His biggest frustration came after Argentina's last-gasp try was ruled out following a lengthy TMO review.

"There was nothing clear and obvious about that last try for Argentina being taken away. It goes a long way to putting people off rugby."

Praise for Feyi-Waboso and Heyes

Not everything drew Greenwood's criticism.

He singled out Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, saying the winger "looked like he was playing against an under-16 team", while Joe Heyes also earned praise after England gained the upper hand in the scrum.

Borthwick gets the result he needed

Greenwood acknowledged the pressure on England's head coach heading into the match and felt Borthwick made the right call by sticking with his team selection.

"Borthwick knew the pressure was on for this game, and he didn't want to make changes. He needed to keep them together. That's what he gets paid the bucks for."

And despite England's flaws, Greenwood admitted the result could prove crucial.