Rugby World Cup 2019: England sweat on Billy Vunipola injury as Owen Farrell clears up HIA confusion

No 8 did not emerge for the second half after twisting his ankle, while Farrell found himself the victim of a second red-card tackle in the space of two games in England’s 39-10 win over Argentina

England will wait nervously on the fitness of Billy Vunipola after he was forced off at half-time of the 39-10 victory over 14-man Argentina, which sealed their place in the quarter-finals with a match to spare.

Vunipola suffered the injury late in the first half, and despite having his left ankle heavily wrapped in tape, he failed to return for the second half as Lewis Ludlam replaced him in the back row.

Given Vunipola’s recent injury record and the fact that he has started all three games in Japan on top of the four World Cup warm-up games, there is a fear that his workload has taken its toll.

Eddie Jones refused to offer too much detail on Vunipola’s condition, but there was a worrying sign that he did not even emerge at the end of the game to shake hands with the Pumas.

“He's twisted his ankle but we don't think it's too serious,” Jones said, refusing to offer any more on the No 8’s injury.

Jones was sat next to Owen Farrell, who received a second heavy blow to the head in as many games following Tomas Lavanini’s 19th-minute high tackle that saw the Argentine lock sent off by referee Nigel Owens. The collision followed a similar one during the win over the United States, which saw US flanker John Quill shown a red card, but for the second game running Farrell did not undergo a head injury assessment [HIA] as the England medics did not suspect he had a concussion.

However, Farrell played down any concerns for his well-being.

“I feel fine,” Farrell said. “It’s obviously concussion that’s the worry but I didn’t get hit anywhere near the top of the head. Maybe your jaw gets a bit sore but I was fine and there was no need for a HIA.”

Jones continued his stance of not commenting on the decision, claiming that they should be left up to the referees, but Owens was vindicated in how he dealt with the sending off by Argentina boss Mario Ledesma.

“It had a big impact because it was so early in the game, but I thought it was fair,” said Ledesma, who also believed that England could have had Manu Tuilagi sin-binned for tackling Emiliano Boffelli in the air. “Sometimes it’s a yellow card, sometimes it’s not, but it’s more if you fall to the ground on your shoulder or neck, and the ref called it a penalty so we move on.”

Billy Vunipola suffered an ankle injury during the first half of England's victory over Argentina (Getty)

Argentina’s tighthead prop Juan Figallo, who plays alongside a number of England stars at Saracens, concurred with his head coach. “We were hoping it was just a yellow but it was a clear red,” he said. “We had to deal with that and we tried and tried but it's tough to play a game in a World Cup with 14 men. Tomas isn't feeling great but we support him. It was an unlucky tackle, 10 centimetres down and it was a great tackle.

"We thought Manu's tackle was a yellow card. That could have helped us because it was early in the game but it was the ref's decision and I won't say anything about referees. We have to deal with that."

Despite scoring another six tries to add on to the 11 they scored against Tonga and the US, Jones believes his squad must continue to keep improving if they are to beat France and make it a clean sweep in Pool C, with that game next Saturday at the International Stadium Yokohama next Saturday a shoot-out for top spot.

The Australian did highlight that the reduction in numbers for Argentina had a galvanising effect on the South American side.

Tomas Lavanini tackles Owen Farrell high that earned him a red card (AFP via Getty)

“We’re just worried about France next week,” added Jones. “It’s qualification for the quarter-finals but our emphasis is just about getting better for the next game.

“When Argentina went down to 14 men, they possible had a psychological lift and it’s human nature that we dropped off a little bit because you think you’re going to win the game. I was really pleased with how the players came back in the second half and dominated. If you’d have said we’d have 15 points after three games, we’d be pretty happy.

“We're just happy with the way we stuck at the game, we didn't get carried away. That's a banana skin game for us. You have to remember that three years ago we beat Argentina with 14 men after Elliot Daly got sent off. We won the game easily with 14 men. You've got to be careful, so I was really pleased with the leadership of the team.”

Tomas Lavanini was sent off for a high tackle on Owen Farrell (Getty)

Jones also confirmed that it is unlikely that he will be able to fly home to Australia on Friday to attend the funeral of his close friend Jeff Sayle, with the Randwick rugby great passing away last Monday at the age of 77.

It is feasible that Jones could leave Tokyo on Thursday evening after naming his side and return on Saturday morning in time for England’s Pool C decider against France, but those plans appear unlikely to materialise.

“Unless the RFU hire a concord for me, it’ll be quite difficult to go,” he said. “I’m negotiating with BA, concord and he RFU to see what we can do. Obviously I’d like to go but I’ve got a lot of responsibility here. I’m conscious of that. The travel makes it difficult so I doubt very much that I’ll be going, as much as I’d like to.”