BIG SURGES FROM Juan Martín González and Bautista Delguy brought the Pumas from the halfway line all the way into Ireland’s 22 in the space of 15 seconds and Irish supporters’ hearts were suddenly in their mouths.
With the clock in the red and Ireland leading 22-19, there was the prospect of late agony.
Craig Casey stretched out to haul Delguy down and Ireland recovered their defensive line as the 14-man Pumas attack slowed. Still, they edged forward.
Tadhg Beirne jackaled looking for a turnover but was cleared away.
Argentina edged even closer, up towards the Irish five-metre line. And then came Cian Healy and Joe McCarthy’s intervention.
As the game ticked towards the 83rd minute, Healy and McCarthy teamed up to bring Joaquín Oviedo to ground, then bounced back up onto their feet to barge forward, forcing a win-sealing knock-on at the base of the ruck.
“Church was making some of the craziest noises ever trying to use every last bit of juice in him to get a counter-ruck,” said McCarthy after Ireland’s win.
“I think he used every last bit of his energy to force the error.
“It was a good bit of experience from him to get it done at the end.”
Understandably, McCarthy pushed the credit onto Healy on the occasion of the prop’s record-equalling 133rd cap for Ireland but McCarthy clearly played his part too.
The 23-year-old second row was named player of the match after a hard-working shift for Andy Farrell’s side.
The only part of the game he missed was the 10-minute period he spent in the sin bin in the second half after being caught offside. Referee Paul Williams had already issued Ireland a yellow-card warning and McCarthy was the next offender.
“I don’t know how I got man of the match after getting a yellow but yeah, there were a good few yellow cards in the game now!” said McCarthy.
“I’ll definitely hear about it from Paulie [O'Connell, Ireland's forwards coach] in the meeting on Monday.”
While McCarthy was in the bin, Ireland’s head of athletic performance Aled Walters was in his ear, telling him to stay warm and focus on the next positive moment he would deliver when he was back on the pitch.
McCarthy had a few of those but among the most enjoyable was scrummaging behind debutant tighthead prop Thomas Clarkson when Ireland won a scrum penalty in the 65th minute.
“So, so good,” said McCarthy, “delighted for him. He’s so dedicated to getting here, such a diligent player, a real smart tighthead. I love scrummaging behind him.
“We went to the same school, so I know TC very well. I was delighted to be behind him for that scrum, it’s probably the best feeling on your debut, getting an international scrum penalty. It was class.”
Giving up 13 penalties for the second week running was the most frustrating aspect of the night for Ireland on Friday.
Farrell is keen for his team to be combative but as players like McCarthy know, there’s a fine line between playing on the edge and slipping over it.
“It’s something we talk about,” said McCarthy.
“We lost the penalty count against New Zealand which makes it extremely tough to stay in the game and then again today, we gave them some easy outs so I think if we start cutting out some of those penalties, I think that will make our game flow a lot better.
“We’re forcing it a bit. Because I think we came out of the blocks firing and then we started slipping into some bad habits and giving away penalties which kind of made the game cagey enough.”
Backrow balance was all wrong and with Beirne looking a bit lost, JVDF was doing his own job as well as being in the trenches(no6). He was absolutely superhuman – no other word for it – from 1st minute to last and was MOTM by an Irish mile.
@Michael Murray: thought Beirne was outstanding. Would prefer him as a lock tho and not in the back row
@Michael Murray: Was at the game. The red cap of VDF could be seen literally everywhere. What a player.
@Tom Reilly: That’s the idea of the red cap Tom. Stands out much more than the black cap. It’s like the pink boot in football.
@Ray Ridge: Yeah, JVDF comes across as that sort of guy…a real attention seeker…take the day off, Ray – it gets tiring listen to you after a while. Get outside and get some fresh air, walk the dog, do something to make yourself a better person..
@James: ….aye, he’s such a pane in the whole!
@James: Stop, that’s not the point I’m making. Josh is a fine player and individual. No matter who wears a red cap of course it’s going to stand out more. No need to try to be a wise guy.
@James: Mute him like many have, this place gets a lot more tolerable instantly
@Dec: in place of who at lock though. Not really big enough for 4/5 and he has the athleticism for 6. Think it’s his best position
@Simon Kerins: beirne is the first name on the sheet when it comes to ryan, mccarthy and beirne
I have been saying for a while now I wasn’t sure if Clarkson was up to club level never mind international level but I have to say he more than held his own. It’s nice to be wrong, hopefully he’ll keep getting better
@chris mcdonnell: I told you Chris that Clarkson had really improved as a scrummager. Now he took a bit of time and a few harsh lessons to get here but he, as big Joe says, is hardworking and diligent. And the good news is that as age wise goes for props TC is only a pup.
Izuzchu must play at 6 going forward. Plain clear and obvious to see
@Gary Galligan: do you see Beirne to be that bad – saved a try, 16 tackled. Yes, butchered his try but still a great player imho.
@JJB: Beirne great player but should be at lock
@Michael Corkery: south Dublin media won’t allow that
@JJB: He’s a leinster man, they won’t mind. I didn’t realise the south Dublin media picked the team.
@JJB: Give up the victim complex JJ.
@JJB: he’s fantastic just think he’s more suited to lock. Izzy the man going forward.
@JJB: Chippy..best team bar a few injuries are on the pitch. Beirne is from Kildare also…irrelevant where a player is from as long as we have our best players on the pitch. Ulster, Leinster, Munster or Connacht. Parochial nonsense isn’t progressive
It’s unfortunate that any of the new caps and players to come ware mainly Leinster players. Not very good for the wider playing pool.
@Ger: Exactly. I said this over reliance on just one province would hurt Ireland in the long run, and now we are starting to see the results of it.
@Ray Ridge: and what’s more damning is the over reliance on a province that hasn’t won anything for few years and went 65 minutes without a score against Benneton and similarly against Munster. It’s no surprise really that we are struggling.
@Ray Ridge: So who is a fault? The other provinces need to get their sh.@t together
@Mick Joe: IRFU are mostly at fault, but yes other provinces need to up their game big time.
@Ray Ridge: Irish rugby is the most successful it’s ever been. WC aside we have won Grand Slams and Championships, developed a sevens programme and the provinces are doing reasonably well. We do have limitations as a player pool, notably size and speed like some countries-we are however doing well under IRFU if success is a barometer. NZ were always most successful when relying on players from mainly one team (Crusaders). Ireland second most successful period (15 years ago) relied on the bulk of the players from Munster
Great to see younger players like joe, prendergast, Osborne coming through. But prendergast looks a fair bit off the physical side of it, can’t tackle yet.very good with the ball though
@Matthew Delaney: Needs a few more kilos..
@Con Cussed: More than a few otherwise battering ram type back rowers and centres will target his channel.
@Matthew Delaney: for that reason alone, I wouldn’t play him v Fiji. I remember Joey getting a thumping by these boys when he was in a similar career position and hadn’t developed the upper body. He was never the same after.