A win is a win but there wasn’t much for Andy Farrell’s men to celebrate at the full-time whistle.
Ireland returned to winning ways tonight however, despite the result, questions remain over The Boys In Green as they stumbled through a penalty-filled victory against Los Pumas.
It looked to be a perfect start for the visitors when Matias Moroni latched on to a fumbled ball and darted up the pitch to score. However, play was called back for a penalty to Ireland after replays showed that he had collided with Jack Crowley.
Moroni received a booking and Crowley then gave Ireland the lead from the subsequent play with barely three minutes on the clock.
Mack Hansen doubled the hosts’ lead just three minutes later following an incredible pass from Jamison Gibson-Park to Tadhg Beirne who popped it into the hands of the oncoming Hansen.
Ireland began to concede sloppy penalties which allowed Argentina’s Tomas Albornoz to split the post twice, cutting the score down 12-6 at the 20-minute mark.
Crowley added a drop-goal soon after and Joe McCarthy rounded the half off with a flourish as he crossed the try-line following another great bit of play from Gibson-Park as Ireland led 22-9 at the break.
Los Pumas were the better side following the restart as Juan Cruz Mallia showed some fancy footwork to score a sensational try to bring the score to 22-19.
The remainder of the second half was a stalemate as Ireland didn’t manage to score and will be counting their blessings that Albornoz shanked a drop-goal wide early after the restart.
There was a rapturous ovation when Cian Healy was brought on in the 67th minute as he came on for his 133th cap, making him the nation’s joint-most capped player of all time. Sam Prendergast also made his debut along with Tom Clarkson.
The dying embers of the game had Irish fans biting their nails as Argentina managed to push right up to their try-line but could not come up with the goods and a collective sigh of relief was breathed around the Aviva.
Below are all of the player ratings for Ireland.
Hugo Keenan – 7
Solid display from the Leinster man who played a key role in Ireland’s attacks in the first-half.
Mack Hansen – 7
A well-rounded performance and a constant threat to Argentina which saw him get over the try-line.
Garry Ringrose – 7
Emphatic in the air as he covered every inch of grass.
Robbie Henshaw – 7
Similar to Ringrose, he seemed to be in all places at the same time.
James Lowe – 6
A relatively quiet game but solid nonetheless.
Jack Crowley – 8
Produced the goods when needed, very accurate from the kicking tee on top of his drop-goal and try.
Jamison Gibson-Park – 8
Ran the show for the hosts in the first-half, showed some incredible flair with some of his passes.
Caelan Doris – 7
A tough night for all of Ireland’s forwards, but ultimately the skipper will be happy that his side were able to not concede at the end.
Josh van der Flier – 7
Solid as always, came up with a huge block early on in the game.
Tadhg Beirne – 6
Strong in the tackle and was effective on the night.
James Ryan – 6
Another decent showing, again enjoyed a better end to the game.
Joe McCarthy – 8 (POTM)
A very solid showing that was also capped off with a great score.
Ronán Kelleher – 6
Another strong showing throughout the evening.
Finlay Bealham – 6
Was caught up in one of the early controversial refereeing decisions as he only received a booking for a croc roll.
Andrew Porter – 6
A decent performance as well.
Replacements
- Rob Herring – 6
- Cian Healy – 6
- Tom Clarkson – 6
- Ryan Baird – 6
- Peter O’Mahony – 6
- Craig Casey – 6
- Sam Prendergast – 6
- Jamie Osborne – 6
