Argentina 24-31 England: England’s discipline ‘verging on comical’ – Matt Dawson

In addition to their four yellow cards, England awarded 14 penalties to Argentina’s six yellow cards, increasing their points in the Nations Championship to 34 in three matches.

Former England wing Chris Ashton believes this poor pattern of discipline is a weakness that opposing teams will seek to exploit.

“If you’re playing against England you know they’re going to give away penalties and make some stupid mistakes which will cause them to lose the game,” Ashton told BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra.

It’s an issue that hasn’t gone unnoticed by the players, with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, who scored England’s fifth try and lit up the game with his perky runs, describing it as something the team needs to work on.

“Discipline is a huge thing,” he said. “I don’t know how many cards there are, but it’s too many. We can’t play matches where we finish with 13 cards. [players]”

Borthwick was keen to focus on the “incredible spirit” of his team, which went on to win.

“It’s almost unfair to give an example, but Henry Slade’s fight at the end was incredible,” he said.

“It shows not only the fight in this group of players, but also their unity and bond.

“Right now these players deserve a great holiday, a good night and a good rest.

“They worked hard and it has been a long-running season.

“We all know how many minutes England players play and these guys stuck with it until the end.”

Meanwhile, Argentina head coach Felipe Contepomi accused England of showing “disrespect” in his post-match press conference.

Contepomi took exception to the music and chants heard from England’s dressing room next door.

Contepomi asked the British representative in the room to stop the noise, but when there was no sound, he lost his patience and left the room.