Murray Kinsella reports from the Millennium Stadium
IRELAND WERE BEATEN 43-20 by Argentina in their World Cup quarter-final at the Millennium Stadium this afternoon.
Read our full match report here.
Pumas rampant
The opening 20 minutes from Daniel Hourcade’s side were as impressive as we’ve seen from anyone at this World Cup, their rucking exceptional, passing accurate and decision-making always sharp.
Their use of back-door passes behind forward runners allowed them to shift the ball to the wide channels and there they shredded Ireland time and again. Joaquín Tuculet’s crucial try to send the Pumas 33-20 clear said it all. The Pumas’ fans responded by making the Millennium Stadium bounce.
Schmidt’s side were constantly narrow in defence, struggling badly to get good spacing or numbering due to the speed of the Pumas’ ruck. The fact that they had brutish ball carriers such as Pablo Matera meant Ireland were so often chasing those rucks.
It was the variety of attack from Argentina that caused such problems. They struck wide after shifting the ball through the hands of Nico Sánchez and Juan Martín Hernández, but also targeted soft shoulders near the breakdown when Ireland overcompensated.
Individually, they won all the one-on-ones as Ireland’s defence delivered a poor, poor performance. Too passive, too willing to concede yards before the tackle, too reactive.
While the disappointment will centre on Ireland’s display, we must applaud this thrilling performance from the Pumas.
Mental question marks
Defence is so often a product of mindset, and Ireland were evidently lacking. The aggression that was needed to shake the Pumas was utterly absent, the passion that has driven so many big Ireland performances was nowhere to be seen.
The opening 20 minutes were a sorry sight and, even when Ireland fought back to within three points in the second half and suggested a showing of resilience and grit, they then wilted under the pressure that the Pumas ramped up again.
Kicks into touch on the full, knock ons at the tail of the scrum and more missed tackles, the mental strength just wasn’t there in the greatest time of need. Ireland drop out at the quarter-final stages of the World Cup yet again and will have to wait four more years for another shot.
Yes, the Pumas were brilliant, but Ireland’s poor showing makes it another depressing exit.
Leaders
If we’re going to speak of mental strength, it must be highlighted that Ireland’s big leaders in Paul O’Connell, Johnny Sexton, Sean O’Brien and Peter O’Mahony were missed beyond belief.
The hope had been that Schmidt’s men could cope, but that quartet – and the defensive leader Jared Payne – would have made a huge difference here. Ireland simply are not the same team without them. Such is a World Cup, and Ireland didn’t deal with the losses.
Rory Best and Jamie Heaslip were brilliant in a lost cause it must be said, while Luke Fitzgerald showed world-class ability off the bench, but is was a dying battle.
The scrum, so often an area of strength, had a tough outing and Ireland were largely unable to play off that platform with clean possession.
Bench
Jack McGrath was excellent off the bench for Ireland, as was Fitzgerald after the loss of Tommy Bowe to injury, but it boggles the mind as to why Schmidt didn’t add the manic aggression of Donnacha Ryan until the 70th minute.
Clearly this was not the winning or losing of the game, nowhere near it, but the sense even at half time was that Ireland could have benefited from the Tipp man’s energy, defensive mobility and ball-carrying power.
Rhys Ruddock was short of game time of course, but again you wonder if the Leinster bruiser could have battered his way over the gainline and smashed a few Pumas ball carriers earlier in that second half.
Bitter disappointment
Ireland came into this World Cup as genuine contenders, with two Six Nations behind them, but another quarter-final exit makes the campaign an underachievement. The fact that Schmidt’s men weren’t even in this contest when the endgame arrived says it all.
The main concern before the competition began was losing one or both of Paul O’Connell and Johnny Sexton. So proved the case and Ireland floundered without them. That said, this squad has prided itself on depth and it just didn’t shine through as the Pumas ran riot.
While the defence failed to cope with Argentina’s expansive brand of rugby, Ireland’s attack was blunt in the face of the Pumas’ linespeed.
Aside from two moments of magic from Like Fitzgerald, Ireland barely fired a shot with ball in hand. It was perhaps another chief concern in the lead-up to this World Cup, and with Ireland’s set-piece failing to provide ideal possession, the worries came to pass.
Ireland just didn’t have enough guile, invention, creativity or incision to break the Pumas down. Hourcade’s side utterly deserve their semi-final.
