In addition to their four yellow cards, England gave away 14 penalties to Argentina’s six, taking their tally for the Nations Championship to 34 conceded in three matches.
Former England wing Chris Ashton believes this pattern of ill-discipline is a weakness opposition teams will look to exploit.
“If you are playing against England, you know they are going to give penalties away and make some stupid errors that result in them losing games,” Ashton told BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra.
It’s a problem that’s not lost on the players, with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, who scored England’s fifth try and lit up the match with his jinking runs, identifying it as something for the team to work on.
“Discipline is a huge thing,” he said. “I don’t know how many cards there were but too many. We can’t be having games where we finish with 13 [players].”
Borthwick was eager to focus on his team’s “incredible spirit” as they hung on to win.
“It’s almost unfair to pull out one example but Henry Slade’s tackle at the end was incredible,” he said.
“It shows the fight that’s in this group of players, as well as their togetherness and connection.
“Right now these players deserve a fantastic holiday, a good night out tonight and a good rest.
“They’ve worked hard and it’s been a season that’s been going a while.
“We all know about the number of minutes the English players play and these guys have stuck to it right to the very end.”
Meanwhile, Argentina head coach Felipe Contepomi accused England of showing a “lack of respect” during his post-match news conference.
Contepomi took exception to the music and cheering that could be heard coming from England’s changing room next door.
Having asked the England representative present in the room to stop the noise, Contepomi lost patience when it did not, and walked out of the room.
