Contepomi leaves press conference after England beat Argentina 31-24

Argentina head coach Felipe Contepomi abruptly ended his post-match press conference following his side's 31-24 defeat by England in Santiago del Estero, after becoming irritated by music and noise coming from the visiting dressing room.

According to widespread reports from the media session, Contepomi asked for the music to be turned down before leaving the room, describing England's conduct as a lack of respect. The music was eventually switched off, but by then the Argentina coach had already departed.

A dramatic Test match

The exchange came after a chaotic contest in which England scored heavily but also spent long spells short-handed. Four England players were sent to the sin bin — Jack van Poortvliet, Alex Coles, Henry Pollock and Emmanuel Iyogun — and at one stage the visitors were reduced to 13 men.

The match produced eight tries and seven yellow cards in total. Argentina pushed for a late equaliser and had a try in the 83rd minute ruled out; had it stood and been converted, the game would have finished level.

• England won 31-24 in Santiago del Estero
• Eight tries and seven yellow cards across the match
• Four England players were sin-binned, leaving them with 13 at one point
• Argentina had an 83rd-minute try disallowed that could have levelled the score
• Contepomi left his press conference after asking for music from England's dressing room to stop

England's reaction

England head coach Steve Borthwick praised his players' resilience in difficult circumstances, highlighting the leadership of captain Jamie George and a late Henry Slade tackle that helped protect the lead. He said he was delighted for the squad and noted that meetings between the two nations tend to be decided late and in dramatic fashion.

Borthwick declined to dwell on the disciplinary issues when pressed, saying the performance deserved credit rather than scrutiny, and suggested his players had earned a rest after a long season. Both teams now head into their off-season, with the fallout from the press conference likely to linger around the next fixture between them.