Boffelli the hero as Argentina edge England
Emiliano Boffelli was Argentina's hero as they beat England at Twickenham for just the second time in history to open their Autumn Nations Series campaign with a dramatic 30-29 win on Sunday. Edinburgh winger Boffelli scored 25 points in what was a dress rehearsal for next year's Rugby World Cup opener between the teams as Argentina ended a 10-match losing streak against England. The hosts scored the only try of the first half, through powerhouse winger Joe Cokanasiga but turned round just 16-12 ahead after Boffelli landed all four of his penalty-goal attempts. Argentina, however, hit back with two tries early in the second half from Boffelli and Gloucester fly-half Santiago Carreras to lead 24-16. But England replacement scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet, on the field for barely 30 seconds, then went over for a converted try before another penalty from Red Rose captain Owen Farrell nudged the home side ahead at 26-24. Boffelli's long-range penalty then made it 27-26 to the Pumas before the Pumas' goalkicker edged the visitors ahead again, with Argentina beating England at Twickenham for only the second time since a 25-18 success in 2006. "We said at half-time that we must stay close in the score, then we got two tries," Boffelli told Prime Video Sport as he paid tribute to Argentina coach Michael Cheika, who earlier this year guided the Pumas to their first win over the All Blacks in New Zealand. "The coach, everyone knows him as a coach and he has great experience. He is confident in us. "To score 25 points at Twickenham is great! The whole team did their job." Victory was another feather in the cap for Cheika as he enjoyed a win over an England side coached by Eddie Jones his former team-mate at Sydney club Randwick. Jones lamented England's lack of composure "We didn't finish well, there was that lack of cohesion," he said. "It's not good enough, we realise it's not good enough." The match kicked off in rainswept conditions that led to a prolonged tactical kicking battle. Boffelli opened the scoring in the 10th minute when England debutant lock Alex Coles was penalised for an off-the-ball tackle. But Farrell, captaining England for the first time in a year after Courtney Lawes was ruled out with concussion, drew the hosts level minutes later. Coles's knock-on from the restart gave Argentina a scrum deep inside England's 22 and Boffelli made it 6-3 after the hosts infringed. As the sun broke through the clouds, England fly-half Marcus Smith followed-up a chip kick from scrum-half Ben Youngs and tackled Mateo Carreras behind his own line to give England a five-metre scrum. England No 8 Billy Vunipola then picked up the ball from the back of the set-piece and fed Youngs, who in turn found Cokanasiga, for a 25th minute try. Farrell converted and England led 10-6. Farrell and Boffelli then exchanged penalties before an Argentina infringement in first-half stoppage time allowed the inside centre to nudge England further ahead. Argentina though then stunned England with two tries in a matter of minutes after the break. From a line-out on the right, the ball was worked across field and Santiago Carreras' excellent cut out pass found Boffelli, who slid in at the left corner. Boffelli couldn't convert but made amends soon afterwards. Farrell's pass went astray and Carreras sprinted clear from the cover for a dramatic score upheld following a check by the television match official for a possible Argentina knock-on. But it did not take England long to reduce Argentina's lead to just a point. Moments after replacing Leicester team-mate Youngs, van Poortvliet caught Argentina cold with a sniping break for a try by the posts that Farrell converted. But it was the Pumas who held their nerve in a late penalty exchange, with Boffelli's 41-metre effort proving decisive. (AFP)