Of all four quarter-final defeats for the northern-hemisphere teams this weekend, this was the game that should cause greatest concern. Not just because of the emphatic final scoreline, which was rather harsh on Ireland but told in the starkest terms of their failure to reach a World Cup semi-final for the first time.
The greater worry was the vast difference in skill levels, especially in the game’s crucial moments yesterday, in a contest between a side who have been champions of Europe for the past two years and a team who, for all their progress, have still won only two of 21 matches in the Rugby Championship.
Argentina were breathtaking, scoring four wonderful tries finished by their razor-sharp backs. Two came in the first ten minutes as they shot out of the blocks while Ireland were still tieing their shoelaces, racing into a 17-0 lead. Two more tries came in the closing stages, snuffing out the hopes of hordes of Irish supporters who had turned Cardiff green, and by the time Juan Imhoff sprinted triumphantly home for the final try, the Pumas had served notice that they will be formidable opponents for Australia in the second semi-final on Sunday.
In between times, Ireland made a spirited resurgence, scoring well-worked tries of their own through Luke Fitzgerald and Jordi Murphy, and if Ian Madigan had kicked a penalty goal in the 60th minute from 45 metres, the scores would have been level at 23-23.
Madigan missed, though, and the big screen in the stadium panned unforgivingly to the faces of Jonathan Sexton and Paul O’Connell in the stands. Increasingly, Ireland’s injured absentees began to resemble the ghosts at the feast and Joe Schmidt, the head coach, could not help after the game but lament his side’s shortage of leaders. “We were a bit naive and missed that experience and direction,” Schmidt said. “You can’t afford to give such a good side a head-start.”
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This may have been the European champions, but it was a side whose heart had been ripped out by injuries to Sexton, O’Connell and Peter O’Mahony, and by the suspension of Sean O’Brien. Tommy Bowe was added to the casualty list when he departed with a knee injury in the 13th minute. Like Wales, the depth of talent available to them is limited and Madigan, for one, was starting against a Tier 1 nation for only the second time.
It had taken only ten minutes for it to become abundantly clear how much Ireland would miss their injured totems. In the fourth minute, Joaquín Tuculet rose high to reclaim Juan-Martín Hernández’s hanging kick. Pablo Matera, one third of a fiercely physical back row, added impetus to the movement and, when the ball was moved right, Santiago Cordero straightened the line beautifully to put Matías Moroni into the corner.
Six minutes later, shortly after their pack had won a vital scrum on their own 22, the ball was moved right again and Cordero chipped deftly for Imhoff to race ahead of Rob Kearney to score, touching the bouncing ball fractions of a second before he crossed the dead-ball line. Nicolás Sánchez converted both tries, added a penalty goal shortly afterwards and the game was almost beyond Ireland before they had even started.
A glimmer of hope arrived when Ramiro Herrera, the tight-head prop, was sent to the sin-bin for a late challenge on Keith Earls and Ireland scored ten points to three in his absence. After Madigan had kicked his first penalty goal, Fitzgerald, put clear down the left by Robbie Henshaw, finished superbly by swerving inside Tuculet’s challenge. Although Madigan missed another penalty-goal attempt, Ireland had a toehold, trailing 20-10 at half-time.
They found firmer footing still when, in the 44th minute Fitzgerald burst through the Pumas’ defensive line, and found Murphy on his left shoulder yelling in support. The conversion brought Ireland within three points and, as Sánchez and Madigan exchanged further penalty goals to make the score 23-20, the volume levels rose. Madigan had that chance to level the scores, but pushed his kick right. “That would have been a massive confidence boost for a team that was lacking in experience,” Schmidt said. “There were a lot of players who’ve never been in a match of that intensity.”
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The game was there to be grabbed and the momentum was with Ireland. Unfortunately, this was the time when the absence of those cool heads was most noticeable. Madigan sliced a kick straight into touch, Henshaw threw a wild long pass. Even Conor Murray, normally so dependable, knocked on at the base of the scrum.
From the resultant Argentina put-in, the Pumas worked the ball into midfield and then, sensing space on the left, moved the ball with bewildering speed. Tuculet worked his way between the Kearney brothers, Rob and Dave, and forced his way over to score.
Now Ireland had to chase the game again and the gaps began to appear. Juan-Martín Fernández Lobbe dummied his way past Nathan White, gave the sweetest of left-handed offloads to Imhoff and the wing skirted Rob Kearney to finish with a glorious flourish.
These were moments of skill that underlined the strides Argentina have made since joining the Rugby Championship. As for Ireland, those Six Nations titles have been a benchmark of their own progress, but their hopes of reaching a World Cup semi-final are on hold for another four years.