ENGLAND 27 ARGENTINA 23

WALES 26 NEW ZEALAND 52

By DAVID NICHOLSON  at Twickenham and Cardiff

ENGLAND won a pulsating Test match tonight at Twickenham to take their winning run to 11 games after they closed out a tense game against Argentina.

It was a close run thing though after the Pumas clawed their way back after going in at half-time 14 points behind, which was the same lead that the Pumas overhauled in Edinburgh last weekend to beat Scotland.

A Puma try in the final minute brought them to within four points, but England clung on.

English ill-discipline and Argentina’s ferocity brought the visitors a try and two penalties to narrow the gap to one point.

But England head coach Steve Borthwick immediately threw the dice and brought on his so-called POM squad replacing the front row, and also brought on first-choice scrum-half Alex Mitchell.

The move paid off as the home side looked sharper in defence and attack, with centre Henry Slade scoring a fine try to take England into an eight-point lead, followed by a Ford penalty to give an 11-point cushion.

Wales continues to wait for a victory against the All Blacks, after going down to a half century against the world’s number two ranked team in Cardiff this Saturday.

But the home side managed to keep themselves in the game for 50 minutes as they fought back three times to bring themselves back into contention.

Three tries for Tom Rogers had the crowd on its feet and will make this a game for the Scarlets winger to remember, becoming the first Welshman to get a hat-trick against the All Blacks.

Returning winger Louis Rees-Zammit scored his side’s fourth try in the closing minutes as his return from American football boosts Wales attacking options.

Scoring four tries against the men in black is a definite plus for head coach Steve Tandy, as his side went toe-to-toe with the All Blacks.

Wales captain Dewi Lake said: “It was a big step forward for us. We spoke about it in the week as a group, how to improve.

“It worked for 60 to 65 minutes, but we gave New Zealand too many opportunities in our own 22.

“Discipline is still an issue that needs resolving, we gave them too many opportunities which you can’t do against a team like that,” Lake said.

But the visitors were stronger and had more in their armoury as they finished 2025 with victory in their closing game of the autumn series.

Welsh indiscipline saw the home side continually warned by referee Holly Davidson, who duly sent two players to the sin bin in the second half, which put paid to a valiant effort.

Tandy praised his side’s “huge effort” and said: “There’s lots to be proud of and some of the tries we scored were outstanding.

“There are things we need to work on, but the group, the toughness and effort they put in right through the game, I’m massively proud of them.”

Tandy said there were some harsh calls and felt the two yellow cards were the turning point, “but as a group we’ve got to look at ourselves.”

New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson said: “We knew they’d be in the game for 50-60 minutes and we were pleased to break away then.

“It took time to break them down, but we knew there would be fatigue at the back end of the game.”

But Robertson will have much to ponder as his side’s defence was shredded four times by the side ranked 12 in the world.

Head coach Steve Tandy also has much to think about as his side host World Champions South Africa next Saturday.

The fixture is outside World Rugby’s official Test window which means Tandy will be without 13 members of his squad as they return to their club sides.

But this performance against the All Blacks has cheered the public and has shown that Tandy’s rebuild is beginning to have a positive effect.