George Ford inspires 14-man England to victory over awful Argentina

George Ford masterminded a remarkable England victory forged in adversity after Argentina were toppled in their World Cup opener despite Tom Curry being sent off in the third minute.

Ford led England out of a crisis created by Curry's dangerous challenge on Juan Cruz Mallia that resulted in the Sale flanker’s yellow card being upgraded to red by the bunker review system.

Taking command, Ford landed three drop-goals and six penalties as Argentina were kicked into oblivion on a warm night at the Stade Velodrome in what was one of England's greatest acts of defiance on a rugby field.

While the outstanding Sale fly-half was busy steering England around the pitch and keeping the scoreboard ticking over, his team-mates fought themselves to a standstill, with Ben Earl and Courtney Lawes magnificent.

It was an ugly spectacle with neither side functioning in attack, but Steve Borthwick’s men showed the character needed to place one foot in the quarter-finals by taking control of Pool D at the expense of their greatest rivals.

A giant stride forward was taken in plugging their leaky defence, but discipline remains a major concern, with Curry set to join Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola in being banned for periods of the World Cup.

England will argue that Curry was unfortunate to become the country’s first red card at a World Cup – and the fastest in the tournament’s history – despite the clash of heads that came as a result of his tackle.

And when Santiago Carreras was punished with only a sin-binning for clattering late into Ford early on, they had additional cause for grievance.

Once the initial drama of Curry’s dismissal had subsided, England rolled up their sleeves to withstand a battering on their line by Argentina’s pack, winning a