With the help of captain Owen Farrell’s 16 points, England managed to defeat Argentina 26–23 and secure third place in the Rugby World Cup. With Farrell’s support, 2003 winners England achieved their first-ever third-place result in the competition. Nicolas Sanchez’s missed penalty kick in the 75th minute that would have tied the score left Argentina with just three points, missing the opportunity to match their greatest World Cup finish ever, which came in 2007. Pumas coach Michael Cheika changed his starting lineup three times from the squad that lost badly to New Zealand last Friday in the semifinals, which was a replay of the England-won pool match in Marseille in September.
After eight years of making his debut as a teenager against the Pumas, and in the same week that he claimed South Africa’s Bongi Mbonambi had racially harassed him during the last-four loss, Steve Borthwick awarded flanker Tom Curry his 50th appearance for England.