Marland Yarde scores two as England complete clean sweep in Argentina

Argentina 26-51 England
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Freddie Burns
Freddie Burns goes over to score in England's 51-26 friendly international victory over Argentina. Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images

England, weakened by leaving certain players at home for a rest and by having 13 now in Australia with the Lions, beat Argentina for the first time in back-to-best Tests on tour. The Pumas were nowhere near their strongest either, with their French-based players being held back for the Rugby Championship, but England put them away with power that turned into a fully poetic performance. The pack did the heavy stuff and Kyle Eastmond and Marland Yarde put a flourish on the finishing.

Having taken two scrums to destroy Argentina in the first Test in Salta, England took a little more time in Buenos Aires, but still used the same set-piece to make the game safe by half time. Two scrummages close to the line led to two concerted drives by the forwards and the referee, Nigel Owens, immediately awarded a brace of penalty tries.

They may not be as uplifting as Eastmond on the move, slinging his passes to the new wing, Yarde, or his co-centre, Jonathan Joseph, but the penalty tries have a dispiriting effect on the opposition. Argentina had approached the game in an altogether steelier frame of mind than in Salta. They succeeded in holding the scrum steady on their own head and kept their lineout tighter. They had a platform at last and Felipe Contepomi, at fly-half in his 81st appearance for the Pumas, kept the forwards going forward with passes and kicking. This was very different and it was no real surprise that they established a 12-6 lead. Martín Bustos Moyano, who had swatted at the ball in Salta, stroked it here for his four penalties, against four from Freddie Burns.

But then came the scrums and the cruel heave. In between these destructive shoves came a little dart by Burns for a third try. The game was more or less decided even before the first half was over, but there was glimmer of a fightback when the large wing Manuel Montero crashed over after a series of drives by his forwards. The wing's day would not end on this high note but in agony when he twisted his knee coming down to earth after a restart.

In the build-up to this try, the Pumas all clustered around the ball, in contrast to England who kept their wings wide, or spread out if Yarde and the other new cap, Jonny May, came off the touchline in search of action. They were always likely to find it because Eastmond brought a new invention and range of passes to the midfield. It will be very difficult to shift the former St Helens player, no matter who England face in more difficult days ahead.

After the little setback, England regrouped and scored three contrasting tries. The admirable Rob Webber stormed over for a hooker's delight, before Yarde and Eastmond went over. Eastmond's try was a model of variety, starting with a jagged sidestep and continuing with acceleration and balance, the ball held in two hands to the very point of scoring.

Tomás Leonardi, never one to give up, scored a more prosaic try, from a driving maul that inched its way to the line. Yarde had the final say, his second on his first day as an international. Width and imagination were the hallmarks of a tour where the first priority is to survive. On all counts, England did that and so much more. This was a place to celebrate the triumphs of the front row, and such plaudits here tend to go to the home team.

So from the cornerstone of the scrum to the far side of the field, everyone had their say in the victories. It wasn't the strongest Argentina side, but there is no such thing as a feeble Pumas side at home. This was a job done in style, the hard work of the front row followed by a statement of intent about style and speed from the midfield and back three.

There were niggles about discipline and the number of penalties conceded at the breakdown in particular, but the negatives were overwhelmed by the positives and a new generation has applied a fair amount of pressure on the older brigade, whose summers at home or in Australia will have been made a little more uncomfortable by the events of the past eight days in Argentina.

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