Argentina 9 England 13: That was a fantastic victory in the circumstances, maintains Johnson

But if he was a little greyer around the temples and if his brow was furrowed deeper than usual, Johnson was at least able to celebrate what he called “a fantastic win in the circumstances”.

With over an hour gone, those circumstances were distinctly uncomfortable for England, who had been second best for much of a brutal Test.

England trailed 9-3, were bleeding penalties and faced a defeat which would have left their World Cup in pieces. Finishing second in Pool B is likely to be ‘rewarded’ with a quarter-final against tournament favourites New Zealand.

Argentina could have been out of sight but their kickers missed six penalty shots and a drop-goal, inexplicable given the sterile conditions under the Otago Stadium roof.

Jonny Wilkinson also had a shocking day with the boot, sending five successive penalty attempts wide as England sought a way back into the game.

It was substitute Ben Youngs who provided England’s ‘get out of jail free’ card, scoring the only try of the match after 68 minutes.

The Leicester scrum-half, making his first appearance since undergoing knee surgery in the summer, scampered over from the base of a ruck.

Wilkinson’s conversion from in front of the posts nudged England into the lead for the first time in the match and from there they closed out a priceless victory.

“We said before the tournament that World Cup games are about finding a way to win in difficult circumstances against difficult teams,” said manager Johnson.

“Clearly it could be a lot better but we found a way to win the game. All the players are frustrated but in the circumstances that is a good win, a fantastic win.”

England knew just how dangerous Argentina would be. The Pumas stunned France in the opening game of the last World Cup and went on to finish third in the tournament.

“In 2007, France would have bitten your arm off to win that game,” said Johnson.

“They are a team that will keep possession and squeeze penalties. It makes it difficult but we got over the line.

“These games are black and white and we found a way to win. We could easily have lost that game and we didn’t.”

Argentina lost both Felipe Contepomi and Gonzalo Tiesi – two key players – to injury in the first half and both face anxious waits for the results of rib and knee scans.

Despite those disruptions, the Pumas’ powerful forward pack remained in control as England, under immense pressure from the Argentina forwards, leaked penalties.

England spoke all week about matching the Pumas’ passion.

Forewarned was not forearmed as Argentina won the physical battle in the first half and forced England to concede a flurry of penalties.

Dan Cole paid the price for England’s continued indiscipline and was sin-binned shortly before the interval.

“If you get behind the count, the referee gets on your back a bit. I’d like to look at the detail, some were clumsy, some were a bit harsh,” said Johnson.

“The guys were frustrated with some of the calls.”

Argentina made a fast start to the second half with breaks from Martin Rodriguez and Marcelo Bosch, with Rodriguez then edging the Pumas 9-3 ahead.

After missing four second-half kicks, Wilkinson then opted to go for the corner and it laid the foundations for the defining moment of the game.

England secured the lineout, drove infield and Youngs, who had injected some dynamism into England’s game, darted over the line from close range.

“It was good for Ben,” said Johnson.

“He runs off the side of the ruck well, it gave us some quicker ball and a bit of go-forward.

“I thought if we got tempo and phases we could break them.”

Although Argentina earned a losing bonus point, fly-half Felipe Contepomi admitted the defeat could prove costly to their hopes of reaching a second successive World Cup semi-final.

“In terms of the result, it can cost us dearly because it is always easier if you win your first game in the World Cup,” said Contepomi.

“In terms of performance the whole team made a big step forward.

“I think we can build on this performance. The World Cup is a long tournament and now we have three tough games ahead of us.

“Hopefully we can improve our game. Having played only one Test in 11 months we knew it would be hard but we have to go on from here.”

It would be a further blow to Argentina if the injuries suffered by Contepomi and centre Gonzalo Tiesi prove to be serious.

Contepomi confirmed he needs an x-ray to determine the extent of his rib injury while Tiesi suffered suspected ligament damage in a tackle from Courtney Lawes.