Two tries: Jonathan Sexton
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Ireland silenced their critics with an impressive 46-24 victory over Argentina at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday.
Ireland led from start to finish in a dominant display, outscoring their visitors seven tries to two.
Few would have expected such a one-sided clash after Argentina's recent win over Wales but the home side produced their best performance since pushing the All Blacks close in June to run the Pumas ragged.
The result ends Ireland's five-Test losing streak and secures their place among the second seeds for the 2015 World Cup draw.
Ireland raced to 24-9 lead by half time thanks to tries from debutant Craig Gilroy, fly-half Jonathan Sexton, hooker Richardt Strauss and full-back Simon Zebo. Argentina's only reply came via three penalties from pivot Nicolas Sanchez.
Unlike a fortnight ago when the Springboks turned the tables on Declan Kidney's men, the second half saw Ireland secure victory with two tries from Tommy Bowe and another from Sexton as the green-clad pack ruled in the tight exchanges and the backs hit their straps.
Argentina scored two consolation tries - via Tomas Leonardi and Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe - in the final ten minutes but will be disappointed with their effort.
Gilroy got his international debut off to a perfect start by scoring a fabulous try after taking a flat pass from Sexton and beating handful of defenders, putting the hosts in front early on - and they never looked back.
Sexton grabbed his first try shortly afterwards with an equally good run to step his way to the whitewash. Strauss emerged from a line-out drive to crash over and give Ireland a 19-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. The result looked done and dusted.
Bowe and Sexton combined to send Zebo over the corner before the half-time whistle, handing the Ireland a 15-point headstart as the sides swapped ends.
Sanchez landed his fourth penalty of the afternoon to get the second half started but two tries in the space of four minutes from Bowe and Sexton ended any hopes of a comeback from the Pumas.
Bowe collected Sexton's chip ahead to gather and touch down before bagging his second after some fancy footwork from Gilroy and a final pass from Donnacha Ryan.
Argentina pushed hard for a try but to their credit, the Irish defence never backed off had held firm against multiple waves of heavy Argentine ball carriers.
The final Irish try arrived when Bowe pounced on Keith Earls' chip kick, but substitute Leonardi and skipper Fernandez Lobbe scored late tries from short range to give Argentina some respectability on the scoreboard.
Man of the match: A few candidates here and Jonathan Sexton deserves a mention for his two tries and getting the Irish backline going. But Ireland really won the game up front and Donnacha Ryan stood out, not only in the line-outs but for his tireless work cleaning out at the breakdown.
Moment of the match: The writing was on the wall early for the Pumas. Craig Gilroy's try was a great start to both the game and a promising Test career.
Villain of the match: Maximiliano Bustos was for a silly swing of a handbag - throwing the ball into the face of opposite number Cian Healy - so not worthy of the villain award.
The scorers:
For Ireland:
Tries: Gilroy, Sexton 2 , Strauss, Zebo, Bowe 2
Cons: Sexton 3, O'Gara
For Argentina:
Tries: Leonardi, Fernandez Lobbe
Con: Hernandez
Pens: Sanchez 4
Yellow card: Bustos
Ireland: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Donnacha Ryan, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Michael Bent, 19 Donncha O'Callaghan, 20 Iain Henderson, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ronan O'Gara, 23 Fergus McFadden.
Argentina: 15 Juan Martin Hernandez, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Santiago Fernandez, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 5 Julio Farias Cabello, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Maximiliano Bustos, 2 Eusebio Guinazu, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Nahuel Lobo, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Tomas Vallejos, 20 Tomas Leonardi, 21 Nicolas Vergallo, 22 Gonzalo Tiesi, 23 Manuel Montero.
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Romain Poite (France), Andrew Small (England)
Television match official: Geoff Warren (England)
Comments
D4tress says...
Great result., but Kidney's still a spoofer. No reason for Zebo, O'Gara or Earls to be anywhere near the Ireland squad, (and they should be out of Munster too).
Donnacha Ryan has got to parnter Richie Gray in the 2nd row for the lions now.
Posted 11:21 26th November 2012
paddy91317 says...
@leinster101
Well said there is a major infiriority complex in this country which i believe is driven by the media and has now captured alot of fans... look at the rte panel for yhe matches g hook moans all the time conor o'shea sits on the fence with everything the only optimistic person is the kiwi... people in this country this oh argentina never turned up oh we must have caught austrailia on a bad day or why cant it just be ireland didnt allow the other team to play for a change.... when you look at all the ireland critics this series myself included we where wrong in most this our 3rds effectivly threw a game away against RSA we destroyed the other two teams with a completely new team .....
Posted 07:29 26th November 2012
damo says...
@Leinster101
Fair play for saying it Darcys best days are behind him, Trimble was being picked by Dikkie while showing nothing in the jersey Darcy has added nothing to the national side for years except for missing tackles and adding nothing going forward and intercepted passes, Cave needs to be in there!!!!! at 13 with $exy at 12 and ROG at 10 for the 6 nations and if Dopey dekkie does this (have been calling for it since long before the RWC) we would win the 6 nations!!!!!
Hesheslip needs to be dropped he is the worst 8 Ireland have had I reckon Ryan/O'maoney/Mccarthy/Henry get some laugh at him doing his hair beore the games!!!!
Rob Kearney back and we could try Bowe 13 and zebo 14 with Rob 15 and with $exy at 12 we have an unreal back line with pace all over and the ability to beat players which we will never have with OAP's insisting on touching the ball!!!
Posted 00:38 26th November 2012
Leinster101 says...
@ Sincero
Get a grip will ya?! Describing Kidney as 'Dickie', Thornley as 'smelly' and talking about a 'sickening national trait of never really ramming home the victory', after the uplifting performance by the team, is petty, ungracious and indicates a chip on each shoulder, and maybe a few personal insecurities.
Sure, the performance wasn't perfect, and we eased off the gas when the bench was emptied, and the game was long over as a contest. So what?! That happens... NZ let in 2 late tries against the Welsh.... do they have a 'sickening national trait of never really ramming home the victory' as well? Austrailia barely beat Italy, are they now a bunch of losers?
If you admire the English trait of humiliating the opposition so much, why don't you move there. That would contribute to removing a little bit of the negativity that's prevalent in Ireland these days. Hopefully, the rest of your ilk might follow you. Clown.
Posted 15:12 25th November 2012
J_HDK says...
@dannyboy
"I bet if we'd been at the last supper it would of have been the cheap KFC and store bought cola that deceived the lord and rendered him useless and deceived before we got our chance to fuck him up! "
So Jesus would have then been made from mechanically recovered chicken, coloured carbonated sugar water with caffeine instead of unleavened bread and fermented grapes,.. thus rendering him useless ...?
...I'm not sure I'm following your train of thought here
Posted 13:52 25th November 2012
Sincero says...
hmm
Posted 12:58 25th November 2012
damo says...
Gilroy sexy bowe zebo did very well and the pack excl hesheslip, Argies were very lethargic in fairness the extra games took their toll. France the week before particularly tough emphasized by their scraping past a weakened samoa side. I will be backing England plus a hefty handi vs NZ next weekend as NZ must be getting tired.
Posted 11:59 25th November 2012
tripero says...
PUMAS have played as long as any other of the southern or six naton?s teams.
I?d say that nobody could say such a excuse about Australia, or Wales, whos have seen many player running otu cause injuries.
The fact of staying at Rugby Champions is just a big opportunity for developping but it doesn?t made a big forth just for spending a seasson there.
I would like to see 30 or 45 playing for Argentina in this high level, and perhpaps we can deal properly the next RWC.
Camon Pumas!!!
Posted 11:17 25th November 2012
ronanmeagher says...
I think most Irish fans know how the Pumas feel.
No excuse for it, as professionals, but last match of a long season, tired, one foot on the plane home, etc, etc.... á la 60 - 0 v's NZ.
Coach can be blamed for that, same as Kidney can't be blamed for NZ thrashing - was the players attitude IMO.
Great result all the same, no issues with team selection really, given the fact some front-liners missing (from our small player base).
Have loads of time for DOC, but now that Ryan has cemented his place, if POC makes it back (big if) then I think there is ample cover in McCarthy & Touhy.
I still think ROG needs to be part of a match-day squad, until Jackson (or Madigan or Keatley although I'm not convinced by either yet) get more game time in less important matches, you could chance one of them on the bench for the Italy match, but there is always the risk that Sexton goes down after 5 minutes against the French and have to call on someone with 1 or 2 caps. Ultimate conundrum, how do they get more caps if you dont play them!!
I think the McFadden experiment has failed, get L. Marshall (can he play 13?) or Cave on the bench and give them a chance or a start. I'd like to see Marshall get a chance when BOD is back, or maybe try Cave with D'arcy.
Posted 10:47 25th November 2012
norm says...
Dannyboy
Cheers lad. I nearly wet myself. Get yourself a column. Take Brendan fannings. Please
Posted 10:38 25th November 2012
ulsterman1999 says...
damo - you are absolutely corret -
Earls is not an international 13 and I it's about time that Darren Cave was given a chance at claiming the 13 shirt. Cave is defensively sound. Earls looked vulnerable and the weak link in the back line. He (Cave) also runs very good lines committing defenders freeing space out wide. That's what we need. We have players who can score tries, but we need players who can create the space for them to do so!
If I was to have a punt i'd put Luke Marshall in at 12. That would give us two good distributers at 10 and 12, someone who can run and hold a decent in at 13 and WORLD CLASS finnishers at 11, 14 and 15.
The 6 nations must now be seen as an oppourtunity to give these ideas a go.
Posted 10:06 25th November 2012
Sincero says...
Outstanding first half, and some brilliant individual performances. Are all our problems solved because we beat a tired Pumas? Is Dickie back to being a genius? Well, Smelly Thornley et al. will say so.
Worst part of the performance was the sickening national trait of never really ramming home the victory... we alway let in one or two when the match is out of sight- the best teams when they are playing well do not do that: the Southerners, the French and the English will aim to humiliate the opposition and leave them with nothing- and they're right to do so. We get on top in a match and always say 'ah sure, lads, it's all great craic, here, have two tries and let's go to the pub'. Not good enough... but there's never been an Irish team that don't do that, so no change there.
Posted 09:17 25th November 2012
bothhands says...
Great performance, great result but realistically the Argies were not up for this one, and I can't understand why. Ok they are on the end of a long run, but after sticking it up Wales they ought to have been more enthusiastic. And I am pussed off we leaked 2 tries at the end, and think we ought to have really pushed for the half century. I am very encouraged to see Zebo and Gilroy perform, both were excellent, but Gilroy seems to take the pish out of defenders .... he runs really unpredictable lines and possesses magnifique sidestep, heads up for the future. can he play 13?
Posted 05:48 25th November 2012
Dannyboy says...
Funny how with us Irish it was always only their second team we beat, or they were tired or they'd had just too long a season, as if we'd just popped out fresh like peas from a pod! Must be some kind of weird kryponite in our jerseys that managed to beat the guys just before we had gotten to them. Dammit, forever denied!
I bet if we'd been at the last supper it would of have been the cheap KFC and store bought cola that deceived the lord and rendered him useless and deceived before we got our chance to fuck him up!
Posted 05:09 25th November 2012
atg77 says...
That's Argentina out of the top eight for the world cup... Ireland to 6, Wales 7...
Posted 00:28 25th November 2012
slowfox7 says...
Congrats Ireland! Disappointing Pumas today. They have been inconsistent for years. The team performance is in overall upward trend, but expect either the most impressive results or the most disgraceful defeats in the future. It is in the Argentina DNA. In any case, a good team like Pumas will learn more from painful defeat than glorious victory. I disagree with the excuse they were "tired". They are supposed to be mostly pros and get a lot of support. Bear in mind the Argentine Rugby Union manages on a yearly budget @ 30M usd (for local and international arenas).
Posted 23:29 24th November 2012
Patagon says...
My congratulations to Ireland, very well played. Ireland showed they have a young team and I bet they will be hungry to play the 6N now. Still a way to go but as today they looked the 2nd best candidate after France. Well done.
Argentina, I'm a little disappointed by the defending. On the other hand, Ireland seem to have picked up the black spots to target before hand and it worked very well for them. More credit to Ireland.
Argentina lacked je ne sai quoi, mojo, red bull, something extra. They gave it all, sure, but they also were absent somehow. Quite strange to make sense.
In any case, Argentina has a very good technical support team which in my humble opinion is improving things all the time, and they will keep doing this. I completely trust their work, and I wouldn't have said that before the RC tournament. I had a lot of doubts then but could see how they have implemented and managed through a good number of the most competitive matches. The decision making I also normally feel it has been right too, swapping players, replacing, so, again on the whole this is all very good for the Pumas. They are on a good path.
Now the technical staff will seat quietly to reflect, analyze and assess for future references all that has happened in the past 12 months for the Pumas: the June July tests, the RC tournament and this hectic November tests in Europe.
We wanted to play regularly at this level. This is the first year EVER that we are given this chance. So, thank you very much to the IRB and the people involved. We are in a learning curve. We are taking notes about what suits us, the Pumas, best. This was an amazingly intense first year at the highest level. Let's be patience and keep learning for the next year.
Posted 23:07 24th November 2012
3in4 says...
makemehappy and his usual trolling. Nothing better to do tonight? Apart from watching your beloved Wales lose yet again...
That was a hugely improved performance from the Boys in Green. Amazing fluidity in the backs at times, with Johnny Sexton invariably the pivot of that fluidity. Gilroy couldn't have had a better debut. He ran great lines all day, finished well and has an electric step. The only question is how he can get into that Ulster team with Bowe and Trimble around!
Can we give Kidney credit for this performance? I don't think so. We can't simply forget about the infuriating inconsistency and confused tactics of Ireland under his tenure. The consensus remains the same: his contract ends after the 2013 Six Nations and he should walk away after that.
Posted 23:03 24th November 2012
Leinster101 says...
Argentina were muck compared to their usual high standards and abrasive style, and I'm sure a long season was a big factor. That said, you can only play what's in front of you and Ireland, without over a third of the first team, pummeled them, and eased off the gas after 60 minutes.
With regards to backline play, it has been the area of most concern in terms of this Irish team, and I think the Les Kiss experiment hasn't worked, and we need a new attacking coach. In saying that, it was the best backline performance all year. Glad to see guys running from deep at pace, Murray speeding up delivery (but please pick Reddan for 6N Kidney!), and Sexton taking the ball flat at pace.
Earls is a poor international 13. Best position on the wing. Darcys best days are behind him.
@ makemehappy - to say the backline was all over the place, is to show that your Rugby understanding is all over the place. The backs play was a massive improvement. I accept, that there's still a lot of work to be done and its a work in progess, but hardly 'all over the place'....
Posted 22:31 24th November 2012
kid_diablo says...
At this point that's as iritating as a loss, WHERE THE HELL WAS THAT PERFORMANCE 2 WEEKS AGO!. i'm really tired of this once a year performance, i have no hope of that form continuing into the six nations.
i won't be surprised if kidney has a contract to 2015 by february.
i know it sounds crazy to talk like this after such a victory but this inconsistency is so demoralising.
Posted 22:19 24th November 2012