Argentina coach Felipe Contepomi stormed out of a press conference and accused England of a “lack of respect” following Saturday’s controversial Nations Championship match.
Contepomi took issue with the music and cheers coming from England’s locker room celebrating their 31-24 win in Santiago del Estero.
He asked the British representative in the room to stop the noise, but lost patience and left four minutes after the press conference ended, saying he was leaving because of a “lack of respect”.
It was the final controversial moment of an evening when seven players, carrying Falkland Islands flags in the stands, had a disallowed attempt in the third minute of extra time that, if converted, would have given Argentina a draw.
England manager Steve Borthwick completed his media duties but refused to comment on the inappropriate punishment that almost cost his team once again.
Argentine fans held banners that read “Malvinas is Argentine” in Spanish, referring to the Falkland Islands.
Argentina wore a commemorative jersey from their infamous 1986 World Cup quarter-final victory over England.
The away team was ahead 19-3 in the first half, but in the second half, Jack van Furtvliet, Alex Coles, Henry Polak, and Emmanuel Iyogun all conceded goals, and the game had to be played for a total of 9 minutes with 13 players, including the last minute of the game.
England players have received 14 yellow cards in the last eight Tests but Borthwick was irritated by questions about his team’s discipline.
“I don’t think now is the time to delve into that,” he said.
“This team did really, really well. It was a tough Test match, a fantastic Test match. We scored some great tries and you always focus on the negative.
“You’re like the Corruption Commission, so it’s great to come back and talk to you.”
Borthwick: Our players showed ‘amazing spirit’.
Tommy Freeman got into an altercation with Argentina’s Mateo Carreras during a nasty clash.
Saturday’s chaotic clash capped the summer for England players as Henry Slade made a late tackle on Bautista Delguy.
Argentina felt Delguy had scored only for video referee Brett Cronan to rule out the try.
Borthwick said: “I’m delighted for the players, they have shown incredible spirit, led brilliantly by Jamie George.
“Whatever the sport, the match between England and Argentina seems to end in a very tight and dramatic match late on.
“It would be almost unfair to pick just one example, but Henry Slade’s tackle at the end was amazing.
“It shows not only the fight of this group of players, but their unity and connection.
“Now these players deserve a fantastic holiday, a good night out and a good rest.
“They worked hard and it was a pretty long season.
“We all know how much time England players play and these guys carried it through to the end.”
