Just enough work to rule

Rugby, no matter the size of the win bonus, remains a perverse sport and English rugby's most tumultuous week duly ended on Saturday in the dampest of squibs.

Despite conditions apparently imported for the occasion from the howling South Atlantic, this was desperately ho-hum stuff, although England's players wisely avoided the phrase "business as usual".

Had England played like worldbeaters, it would have given carte blanche to every team to foresake training sessions for strike ballots in their pre-match build-ups, so perhaps we should be grateful.

Ben Cohen's 69th-minute try, after Jonny Wilkinson's grubber kick had rebounded off the padded goalpost away from Agustin Pichot, proved for the second successive weekend that England can score tries with little chips ahead when the opposing full back is in the sin-bin.

However, it was not until Will Greenwood's arrival did anyone display the basic ability to put a colleague into space with a well-timed pass.

Sure, the weather was dreadful, but Iain Balshaw's otherwise promising first start at full back was marred by a tendency to look inside and Matt Dawson's kick downfield with a three-man overlap at his disposal was another example of English wastefulness.

While the Pumas, who had their speedy winger Ignacio Corleto to thank for stopping Dan Luger from adding a second late try, also defended as well as they have all year, Wilkinson's indecision at outhalf was a further factor, even if he did land a drop-goal with his weaker right foot and contributed 14 points to the cause.

Scorers - England: Try: Cohen. Conversion: Wilkinson. Penalties: Wilkinson 3. Drop goal: Wilkinson.

England: Balshaw; Cohen, Tindall (Greenwood, 58 mins), Catt, Luger; Wilkinson, (Northampton); Leonard (Flatman, 70), Regan (West, [N O]Leicester, 78), White, (Vickery, half-time), Johnson (capt), Grewcock Hill, (Corry, 74), Back, Dallaglio.

Argentina: Contepomi; Bartolucci, Orengo, Arbizu (capt), Corleto; Quesada, Pichot; Grau, Mendez, Hasan, Fernandez-Lobbe, Allub (Ugartemendia, 65), Phelan, Martin, Longo.

Referee: A Lewis (Ireland).