Ireland bounce back from All Blacks defeat to hold off stubborn Argentina

Last week, Ireland put on a show of rugby against New Zealand, only to lose for the first time since 2021 at their Aviva Stadium.

Seven days later, no one knew just how much of a headache the Greens had, and this clash with Argentina had all the makings of a banana skin match, given how solid the Pumas had been recently.

But Ireland came out with the bit between their teeth, blocking Argentina's first two clearances.

This set in motion an initial sequence of possession, which led to a loss of the ball, an Argentinian counter-attack, Irish errors of hand and a killer try from Luciano Cinti. But the video came to the Shamrock's rescue, punishing a high tackle by Mathias Moroni 80 metres down for a yellow. This gave the Irish the try hope they had been waiting for, and Jack Crowley pounced on it (4th).

Garry Ringrose then tore through the Argentinian defence and Mack Hansen easily doubled the lead.

Far from collapsing, the Pumas moved into the Irish camp to reduce the deficit quickly, but had to make do with three meagre points and, above all, the Irish comeback, with Tadhg Beirne almost adding salt to the wound (15th).

However, Finlay Bealham's yellow soon after looked as though it might get the game back on track.

Nevertheless, the Irish showed themselves to be more pragmatic, with Crowley scoring a superb drop-goal at a numerical disadvantage. Then, once they were back up to 15 men, they hit back with a high-volume try from Joe McCarthy (33').

However, the end of the first half was Argentinian, with the Pumas twice crossing the line but failing to score, and the score was finally heavy at the break(22-9).

But the Argentinians were anything but discouraged after the break. They held on to the ball, stretched the game, and finally managed to break through with an exceptional try from Juan Cruz Mallia. The Toulouse star took the ball on the 40 and ruffled the Irish defence to score the best try of the evening (46th).

It was good news for Argentina and bad news for the Shamrock as McCarthy was quickly yellow-carded, with the Irish defence in a tight corner.

Argentina were now back within three points, but Albornoz missed the equaliser with a drop-goal from a good position. Unfortunately, this signalled the end of Argentina's momentum, as they squandered several good possessions and could no longer score on the power play.

But the match was not lost for all that. When the Irish regained their momentum, the Pumas defence closed ranks and waited for an opening.

It came in the 75th minute, but Argentina's indiscipline reared its ugly head again, costing Francisco Gomez Kodela a yellow, and the outcome of the match seemed a foregone conclusion.

Nevertheless, the Pumas had one last chance. They had to work their way up the field, step by step, with Bautista Delguy's impact and Albornoz's vista to get inside the 22. The forwards took over, but just as the Greens seemed on the verge of cracking, a forward error buried their chances.

Ireland thus won 22-19, a victory without real glory despite a good overall standard, but the regrets will be Argentinian this evening.