Depleted England clinical against the Pumas in La Plata

England without 13 British and Irish Lions stunned recent Lions conqueror Argentina 35-12 in test rugby on Saturday.

Argentina beat the Lions 28-24 in Dublin two weeks ago for the first time and left most of the team intact for its first test at home this year.

But Argentina’s failure to score any points in a first half it dominated came back to bite it as England opened the new half by suddenly running the ball and scoring three tries in seven minutes.

The Pumas rallied with two tries to forwards Pablo Matera — his 110th appearance tying Agustin Creevy’s national caps record — and Pedro Rubiolo.

But that’s all England allowed in an impressive show of depth and ruthless efficiency.

It even finished with a flourish. Replacement wing Cadan Murley scored the fourth try and co-captain George Ford, who became the eighth man to play 100 England tests, capped off a surprisingly emphatic win with 15 points and a try assist.

“It’s a great win for us,” Ford told broadcaster Sky Sports.

The Pumas arrived at halftime utterly frustrated. They were held up over the tryline three times and England flanker Sam Underhill was underneath two of them.

England lock Alex Coles and new midfielder Seb Atkinson were yellow-carded. For at least four minutes, Argentina was playing against 13 men.

But by the time Argentina was facing 15 again, England led 3-0 after a drop goal by Ford.

England absorbed everything and turned a 3-0 halftime lead into 22-0 by the 50th minute.

Sweeping backline moves that England kept under wraps in the first half sprouted two tries for wing Tom Roebuck and another for fullback Freddie Steward.

“The first five minutes of the second half we were very poor,” Pumas captain Julian Montoya told Sky Sports. “We can’t have those gaps where we concede very easy points.”

The Pumas closed the gap to 10 going into the fourth quarter but England pinned them down and finished on a high, giving it confidence of sweeping the two-test series in San Juan next weekend.

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby