England manager Martin Johnson admitted the frustrated Twickenham crowd were right to boo his team as they struggled to a 16-9 victory over Argentina.

Shane Geraghty was jeered after directing a kick straight into touch after half an hour and the whole team was booed off at the interval, with the scores tied at 9-9.

England ended the match well, with Matt Banahan's third Test try and a defiant goal-line stand ultimately proving the difference between the two sides.

The result was vital for Johnson's side, with New Zealand arriving at Twickenham next week.

The All Blacks, however, will not have seen much to scare them.

Asked if the crowd were right to boo his side, Johnson said: "I think we probably deserved it.

"Errors really hurt us today. We had far too many. At times we could have kept the ball in hand but didn't.

"We kicked poorly, we didn't chase well and they put the pressure back on us.

"It ultimately comes down to finding a way to win the game which we did. We have got to improve for next week. We can't produce a performance like that again. It wasn't good.

"At times the crowd had every right not to be happy. A lot of them kept with us and that was great.

"We will have to be a lot better than that next week."

Leicester flanker Lewis Moody was named man of the match after a tigerish performance and at times it seemed like he was the only man prepared to take on the Pumas.

"Lewis today was outstanding," said Johnson.

"He was there on kick-chases and charge-downs.

"Jonny Wilkinson made couple of errors more than normal but his presence steadies the team.

"That is what veteran players do."

Argentina had only been together for a week and captain Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe was proud of his side's efforts - but he expects a much tougher challenge against Wales next weekend.

Lobbe said: "In a way we are happy, we are satisfied. We said we should play our gameplan, give everything and put England under pressure.

"We did that. Our defence was really, really good. I am just disappointed that from one little mistake we ended up losing the game. This is the standard we have set for ourselves now.

"We analysed how England were going to play and it didn't surprise us. It will be even tougher at the Millennium Stadium.

"Wales will have watched this game and discovered where to attack us, and we are going to do the same for their game against Samoa.

"They have a lot of good players, good impact players, and we have to raise our bar."