Argentina - 18 - England - 26: Defeating Argentina is always a source of pride for any English sportsman and this latest example deserves more than faint praise. If the Pumas were a toothless shadow of the agile beasts who beat France last week, the message issued to the rest of world rugby by an under-strength England side was less a gentle nudge than a thunderous drumbeat.
Winning Test matches away in hostile arenas like Velez Sarsfield has not always been a strong point during Clive Woodward's tenure but the manager now knows he has a whole new raft of players who respond positively under intense physical and mental pressure. Not all of them will make next year's World Cup squad but woe betide the established regular seeking to pace himself this autumn.
As Ben Kay, the outstanding forward on the field, put it afterwards: "We've probably got four teams who could compete in the World Cup which is a fantastic position to be in for the coaches, if not the players. No one's really sure of his place.
"You could put anyone from this side in the first-choice team and have just as good a chance of performing well."
That assessment is particularly true up front where the management were thrilled by the contributions not only of Kay, who now rates as "one of the best second-row forwards in world rugby" according to Woodward's assistant Phil Larder, but the front-row tyros Steve Thompson and David Flatman and the entire back-row.
Charlie Hodgson looked increasingly assured at outhalf and, among the backline debutants, Phil Christophers made an impact with the way he took his try, England's second, when he unveiled a sidestep worthy of Phil Bennett to score beneath the posts after a downfield burst by Flatman.
"It was just a fantastic feeling," confirmed the Bristol winger. "It's a dream, isn't it?"
Kay's 44th-minute try, a 30-metre charge to the line from Andy Gomarsall's inside pass, was another decisive moment in a match which had looked to be gently slipping away at half-time when England trailed 12-3.
The Pumas, though, paid the price for apparently forgetting they had a back division and underestimating England's resolve and ability to step up a gear after a first half in which, to quote Larder again, "they'd hit us with the kitchen-sink".
Alex Codling dug in stoutly, despite pulling a hamstring in England's final training session which briefly endangered his Test debut, the skipper Phil Vickery defied a bad back and Kay could not push in the scrums for much of the first half after damaging a shoulder.
Woodward politely agreed that, yes, this might just be a satisfying response to the critics at home who said he was mad to tour.
The Pumas, meanwhile, flew to South Africa yesterday for a one-off Test against the Springboks, who share England's World Cup pool. Should Argentina win on Saturday, the tide of English optimism will rise even higher.
Scorers: Argentina: Quesada 6 penalties; England: Kay, Christophers try each, Hodgson 2 and 3 penalties, Stimpson penalty.
ARGENTINA: Corleto (Stade Francais); Camardon (Roma), Orengo (Perpignan), Contepomi (Bristol), Albanese (Leeds); Quesada (Beziers), Pichot (Bristol, capt); Reggiardo (Castres), Mendez (Mendoza), Hasan (Agen), Fernandez Lobbe (Castres), Alvarez (Perpignan), Phelan (CASI), Martin (SIC), Longo (Narbonne). Replacements: Grau ((liceo) for Reggiardo (66 mins), Ostiglia (Hindu) for Phelan (68 mins), Ledesma (Narbonne) for Mendez (72 mins),
ENGLAND: Horak (London Irish); Stimpson (Leicester), Appleford (London Irish), Johnston (Saracens), Christophers (Bristol); Hodgson (Sale), Gomarsall (Gloucester); Flatman (Saracens), Thompson (Northampton), Vickery (Gloucester, capt), Codling (Harlequins), Kay (Leicester), Sanderson (Sale), Moody (Leicester), Worsley (Wasps).
Referee: A Rolland (Ireland).
