Robinson fighting for future

Andy Robinson's future as England head coach is hanging by a thread tonight after the world champions' Twickenham capitulation against Argentina.

Robinson has won just eight of his 20 matches in charge since replacing World Cup-winning supremo Sir Clive Woodward two years ago.

And while England's 25-18 loss - a seventh successive defeat that equalled their all-time record sequence established in 1971 and 1972 - prompted a defiant response from Robinson, it looks unlikely he will survive to next year's World Cup defence in France.

England scored spectacular solo tries in each half from wing Paul Sackey and full-back Iain Balshaw but they were undone by Pumas substitute Federico Todeschini, who amassed 22 points from a try, five penalties and conversion.

Robinson predictably straight-batted questions about his future, but dark clouds are gathering and threatening to submerge his reign.

"We had a number of opportunities and I thought the team showed sparks in patches of the game," said Robinson.

"But because of careless errors and too many penalties conceded, we gave Argentina 12 points and we struggled for momentum.

"I am really disappointed for the supporters. The whole of England has been let down, and that is a massive disappointment

Faced by repeated questioning about his future, Robinson added: "This is my lowest point.

"There will be discussions and a debrief with the senior management. I am not here to make any statements.

"I am in charge of the England team and I will be preparing the side, currently, for South Africa next week.

"I will remain in charge. If you want to talk about other things, like the game, we will do that."

Robinson's body language though, was that of a man who knows his time could be up, and it would be no surprise if the coaching triumvirate of Brian Ashton (attack), John Wells (forwards) and Mike Ford (defence) were handed control sooner, rather than later.

Robinson added: "Take your hats off to Argentina. For them to perform the way they did, you have got to pat them on the back. They played a smart game and deserved to win.

"Argentina kicked very well, they were smarter than us, and counter-attacked well from that. We couldn't get speed of ball, which affected the way we could get momentum into our game.

"We turned the ball over and kicked poorly. When we got on the front foot, we looked dangerous, but we couldn't sustain it for periods of play.

"When you get to 10-3 ahead just before half-time, you have got to extend that lead, not give away basic penalties and allow it to come back to 10-9.

"We felt we needed a bit more speed away from the breakdown, and we needed a little more direction, and replacing Shaun Perry and Charlie Hodgson we felt were the right calls to make.

"The whole country is looking for a performance against South Africa next weekend. We have got to go out there and show the performance is within this England team."