Ireland v Argentina: Five things we learned from a narrow Irish victory

There’ll be an element of frustration that Ireland left a few tries behind them, principally because of a lack of precision following some superb build-up play. The two most obvious examples were when Tadhg Beirne had the ball knocked from his hand in the in-goal area as he tried to reach over a couple of tacklers and dot down. The opportunity was beautifully crafted and deserved a score.
At another point, Caelan Doris and Jamie Osborne made significant progress past the gain line and as James Lowe swept on to the ball the home side seemed set fair to punch the definitive hole that would lead to a try, but the wing lost control of the ball.
There were other less high-profile moments, a knock on here, an errant decision that stifled momentum. Two of Ireland’s three tries came when Argentinian centre Matias Moroni was in the sin bin.
Ireland once again conceded 13 penalties for the fourth occasion this season, this time six in the first half and seven in the second half, the reverse of last week in the defeat to New Zealand. The cumulative tally was a source of concern and irritation for Andy Farrell. He described it as “desperate.”
The players spoke in the build-up to the game how discipline had been a significant work-on from last week but once again the home side were susceptible to rash decisions and carelessness.
Ireland coughed up five offensive penalties, and eight defensive penalties, some of which were attributable to the pressure that Argentina exerted, particularly in that second half, but many were sloppy. Finlay Bealham’s croc-roll was adjudged a yellow due to “a low level of danger” according to the officials and the bunker review, while Joe McCarthy suffered the yellow peril for accumulated team offences.
For the second week in succession Ireland’s post-interval performance dropped off. In defeat to New Zealand, Andy Farrell’s side didn’t record a point in the final 37 minutes of the Test match while the All Blacks tagged on 14. This time Argentina held their hosts scoreless for an even greater length of time, the last 48 minutes to be precise.
The home side will point to the fact that they did create opportunities, but a lack of precision cost them dearly at crucial junctures and there is no disputing that Argentina created more concerted pressure through possession and territory.
The fact Argentina scored 10 points without reply in the second half and had Ireland hanging on for dear life at the end is definitely a concern. That Ireland managed to see out the match is unlikely to soften the review much.
There are times as a referee when it’s better to come clean and admit a mistake or at least moderate the desire to double down on a poor decision. New Zealand official Paul Williams penalised Jamison Gibson-Park for a knock-on – it wasn’t – at a ruck, and then suddenly decided it was a timing issue when replays showed no knock-on.
Julien Montoya scragged the Irish scrumhalf. Williams said: “Knock on.” Caelan Doris queried the call. Williams continued: “Clearly communicated, we are having a scrum here Argentina ball. He [Gibson-Park] needs to be quicker.” Pause. “Caelan it was for timing actually.”
Argentina’s ball carrying was largely more effective around the fringes in getting over the gain line because they came on to the ball at pace with a little more depth but primarily because of the footwork they used in contact. It enabled them to take the collisions on favourable terms, and this combined with the instinct to offload through the tackle allowed them to get momentum.
In contrast Ireland players were a little flatter in taking the ball from a standing start, making it difficult to win the initial contact, especially against superior numbers and massed ranks. The home side were a little predictable.
As the game wore on, that physical toll of being hit by multiple tacklers became more evident. Garry Ringrose and Robbie Henshaw both showed the value of using their feet and changing direction to win the gain line.