England rugby players in Brazil (Image: Henryjpollock/Insatgram)
Members of England’s rugby team may just have deepened their rivalry with Argentina following the hotly contested Nations Championship between the two teams. England came out as 31-24 winners, but there has been a lot of fallout from the game.
Argentina were unhappy with being denied a crucial try by the television match official (TMO) at the end of the game. It came after the Pumas had come back from 19-3 down at half time.
Days after the match, members of the England team appear to be remaining in South America. Posting on Instagram, back row, Henry Pollock has shared a picture of him and teammates in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The video shows the Christ the Redeemer Statue and then shows the England players dancing while donned in Brazil football shirts. The 21-year-old wrote the caption: “When in Rio.”
The post may annoy Argentina, given the rivalry between them and their South American neighbour, Brazil. It seems that football has played a part in the burgeoning rivalry in rugby.
For the match in Argentina, England’s opponents wore a replica of the 1986 Argentina football team strip, a tournament which saw them beat England in controversial fashion, with Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal.
The football rivalry continued this year with the two sides meeting again in the World Cup semi-final. Despite taking the lead in the second half, England fell to a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat.
The rugby team were able to get some sort of revenge with their win. But their celebrations drew criticism from Argentina manager Felipe Contepomi.
England came out on top vs Argentina days after the football World Cup semi-final (Image: Getty)
He accused England of a “lack of respect” before walking out of his post-match press conference. He was left annoyed by the music and celebrations in England’s dressing room.
The fallout from the game continues with World Rugby confirming that Argentina fly-half Tomas Albornoz has been hit with misconduct charges after making contact with the referee when arguing over the disallowed try.
“Tomás Albornoz has been issued with misconduct charges following Argentina’s Nations Championship match against England at Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero on 18 July, 2026,” a World Rugby statement said.
“In line with the remit of the Match Official Abuse Sanction Process, the charges relate to events following the final whistle. Albornoz was seen remonstrating with the match officials following the final whistle.
“The hearing details will be confirmed shortly.
“The Match Official Abuse Sanction Process was introduced to complement Regulation 18 and provide a clearer and more consistent framework for addressing public criticism of match officials, particularly where such comments may contribute to wider online abuse.
“Developed by a cross-game working group including competition owner, match official playing and coaching representation and championed by Union CEOs, the process reflects a unified commitment to support and protect match officials.”
There was also an incident where Albornoz appeared to strike England wing Tommy Freeman, but that has not been cited by World Rugby.