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Ireland continues to be the one place in the oval world that Argentina has not won in. All the other mayor countries have been defeated at home. This year, the All Blacks were beaten in Wellington and only the citadel that is Dublin was the one place that needed to be conquered.
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It wasn’t to be and it hurts.
In a game of two halves, the attempted comeback was not enough and the small margins, when playing against one of the top sides in the world, on the rebound after a loss a week ago, were crucial.
Two yellow cards in crucial moments of the game and playing forty-five minutes with a scrumhalf that did not ignite his team, proved costly.
It was a strange start of the game with the Irish twice charging down kicks; yet, as the opportunity came, inside centre Matías Moroni scored in the second minute, surprising the Aviva Stadium fans.
As the hugs were finishing, referee Paul Williams was brought back to an earlier tackle by Moroni himself. Whilst there was a clear head clash, both tackler and tackled were not in an upright position and Moroni was not entirely at fault. Williams had no option and with fourteen players on the field, Ireland upped the tempo and scored two tries – a third went begging.
What had been a good start turned into a nightmare and it was hard to feel comfortable with what the remaining 70 minutes could bring.
The first half had an Irish pack winning most contact situations and some good tackling avoided more points for most of the remaining minutes until a third try, with ten minutes to play, stretched the lead.
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With scrumhalf Gonzalo Bertranou you know what to expect. Efficiency with little surprise. He has done so in most of his 66 caps, but on Friday, more was needed of him against one of the world’s best number nines in Jamieson Gibson-Park and a hungry pack of forwards. He did not give his team speed of ball and with no go-forward momentum, only the efficient boot of Tomás Albornoz broke the score with three penalties. A drop-goal brushed the left upright.
When Gonzalo García took the field on the 45th minute in place of Bertranou, he was on the ball quicker and Albornoz was given more time to operate. It has been argued in Argentine circles about the coveted number 10 jersey and this year the player born in Tucumán has proven himself. He could have done more in attack in the opening half, but what he failed to do because of lack of space he more than made up for in defence.
Again, the second half showed the way Los Pumas under Felipe Contepomi want to play. They were relentless both in attack and defence. They did not win because even under pressure, Ireland managed to sustain most of what the opposition threw at them. Sometimes, the luck was on their side.
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Juan Cruz Mallía is one of the world’s best players today. He shines in Toulouse and he should why with a great try. It could be said that he read the perfect line to attack, but it was a try that started a few phases earlier with his side moving defenders before he was able to exploit that gap with a superb, angled run. He still had to make it to the try-line. He was unstoppable.
Ireland was forced into giving away penalties, something that is not part of their regular brief, but the pressure they were under was clear. They did get away with a number of penalties that went unnoticed, more so in the final minutes when Los Pumas worked inch by inch towards the try-line.
A 72nd-minute yellow card to veteran prop Frankie Gómez Kodela which was totally avoidable was costly. A full side would have probably been unstoppable in those last passages of play.
A draw would have been a much fairer result, if such a thing exists in sport.
Would Argentina have taken a kick in the final seconds or would they have gone for the match-winning try had Williams awarded one of the handful of penalties that went begging?
The hunger Los Pumas showed would probably have seen them go for a try.
We’ll never know.
Los Pumas were dejected after another loss in Dublin. Ireland did not celebrate the win.
Despite how both teams reacted to the final whistle, it was a great game of rugby.
Los Pumas head to Paris and another huge challenge. They deserve better luck.
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I think Contemponi is a fabulous coach. He’s doing great things with this team.
What impressed me so much about the Pumas last night was how calm they remained.
The Irish seemed to get rattled as the second half unfolded.
Well done Argentina. You did the SH proud. It was so close. Looking forward to the RC next year. More bloodied noses to come.
And then the Aussies will be up a notch I’m sure. It’s going to be a great 2025.
I can feel it, down in my plums.