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Manu Tuilagi (R) congratulates Ben Youngs on his try - Source: Reuters -
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England have grounded out a tight 13-9 win over Argentina in their opening Pool B match in Dunedin tonight.
The English may have been wearing their controversial black strip, but that was where the similarities with the host nation end as they struggled to create try scoring opportunities throughout the match.
They trailed their Argentinean rivals for 60 minutes of the match and it took a try from replacement halfback Ben Youngs in the 67th minute to turn England's fortunes.
Both sides will cite goal kicking as the area that let them down, with a whopping 11 shots at goal - or a potential 33 points - going begging. With no wind present in Dunedin's new indoor stadium, even so-called super-boot Jonny Wilkinson had a forgettable night kicking only three goals from his eight attempts. Argentina's goalkickers were no better with Felipe Contepomi and Martin Rodriguez missing six shots between them.
However Argentina, the dark horses of their group, held their own in all aspects of the game, matching the English pack up front and earning parity in the possession and territory stakes.
The win puts England in the box seat to top Pool B, while Argentina earn a bonus point which could prove crucial, with a hit out against Scotland likely to decide who takes the second quarter-final spot.
The Argentineans looked the more likely side early in the match, playing tight and almost crossing the line on several occasions, with the English defence holding on by the skin of their teeth. Eventually they won a penalty and Felipe Contepomi made no mistake in putting the Pumas in the lead.
Wilkinson replied in the 12th minute with a penalty goal from the sideline to even things up.
However after that although the goal-kickers got the shakes with Rodriguez and Contepomi missing three consecutive goals between them, squandering a potential nine points.
Rodriguez finally put Argentina in the lead at 6-3 witha 40 metre kick on the angle midway through the first half.
However, there was bad news for Argentina when Contepomi was forced from the field injured in the 26th minute after taking a heavy knock.
Wilkinson caught the bad goalkicking-bug as he missed a shot at goal he would nail 99 times out of 100 attempts to leave England trailing.
English prop Dan Cole was sent to the sin-bin in the 35th minute for collapsing a maul, but again Rodriguez was unable to kick the goal to stretch the lead and Argentina went to halftime with their noses in front.
Rodriguez finally got another one over early in the second half to increase the lead to six points, almost immediately Wilkinson had another opportunity to negate it, but was off the mark again with his 40 metre effort.
Argentina defended strongly early in the half and found England isolated at the breakdown on several occasions, however Rodriguez still couldn't kick the goals.
Finally England broke through after Wilkinson turned down the opportunity for a shot at goal, instead kicking for the corner. England kept it tight until Youngs scooted through a hole from the base of the ruck to score under the posts. Finally Wilkinson got a kick to travel between the uprights and put England in front at 10-9 with less than fifteen minutes remaining.
From there England got their noses in front and held onto the ball well, with Wilkinson adding another penalty to give them some breathing space.
The Pumas tried in vain to clinch a match-winning try in the dying stages of the match, and replacement first five-eighth Marcelo Bosch almost sparked a piece of magic from his own 22 when he broke free. However the play broke down when Juan Jose Imhoff rolled the dice with a chip into the England 22. However Ben Foden was able to regather the ball allowing England to close down the game and seal the win.
Argentina have a week to lick their wounds before taking on Romania in Invercargill, while England stay in Dunedin and wait for Georgia in eight days time.
