Sep 30, 2007, 19:02 GMT
Paris - Argentina joined France in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup by beating Ireland 30-15 in a passionate Pool D match played Sunday in Paris.
Man of the match Juan Martin Hernandez converted three drop kicks, centre Felipe Contepomi kicked three penalties and a rugged defence kept the Irish on their back foot most of the match.
Ireland had to win by more than seven points and score four or more tries to advance to the knockout stage. While they played their most energetic match of the tournament, the Irish had the ball poached too often throughout the 80 minutes to have a serious chance at knocking out the Pumas.
By winning, Argentina also topped Pool D and condemned hosts France to face the tournament favourites, New Zealand, far from home in Cardiff on October 6.
In their quarter-final match, scheduled for October 7 at the Stade de France outside Paris, Argentina face a far more manageable opponent in Scotland and, based on this performance, look to have a strong chance of reaching the semi-finals for the first time.
The Irish dominated the opening 10 minutes, but the stout Argentine defence, the best of the tournament, kept them off the score sheet.
The Pumas then opened the scoring in the 17th minute when wing Lucas Borges capped five minutes of ferocious offensive pressure by slanting in for the try.
Contepomi missed the conversion, and when fly half Ronan O'Gara kicked a penalty at 20 minutes, the Irish trailed by only 2 points. But Hernandez answered with a drop kick two minutes later, restoring the Pumas' 5-point lead.
In the 32nd minute, Ireland's most dangerous offensive weapon, wing Brian O'Driscoll, darted through the Argentine defence to score the first try any team had made against the Pumas in the tournament. O'Gara converted and the Irish led 10-8.
The lead lasted only until Hernandez converted his second drop kick four minutes later. The fly half then sparked a spectacular offensive move with a kick and catch that ended in wing Horacio Agullo touching down for the try. Contepomi converted and Argentina led 18-10 at the half.
A Contepomi penalty at 43 minutes extended the lead to 11 points, but the Irish scored their second try four minutes later when fullback Geordan Murphy capped a series of quick passes to touch down. But that ended Ireland's offensive output for the night.
Contepomi added two penalty kicks and Hernandez sealed the Argentine triumph with a drop kick one minute from time.
Irish captain and centre Brian O'Driscoll did not give the Pumas credit for their victory. 'It is difficult to play against a team that refuses to play - we had to play and we had to chase four tries, but they refused to play.'
On the other hand winger Dennis Hickie, who was playing his last rugby game before retiring, was refreshingly forthcoming after the defeat.
'We came up short and we have to live with it. I thought we could have done more collectively, but ultimately you get what you deserve and if we did not go through it was because we were not good enough.
'I dont really know what to say from a team point of view. It is very disappointing, but we have always stuck together and now we came up short.'
Irish coach Eddie O'Sullivan, who agreed to a new four-year contract shortly before the competition, said he would certainly not follow in the footsteps of Welsh coach Gareth Jenkins, who stepped down Sunday after Wales were knocked out by Fiji.
'Absolutely not, there is no reason to reconsider my position.'
Earlier Sunday, in the other Pool D match, France guaranteed their place in the quarter-finals by crushing Georgia 64-7 in Marseille.
Fly half Lionel Beauxis scored 24 points and veteran wing Christophe Dominici accounted for two of France's nine tries as the French overwhelmed the sluggish Georgians, who were playing just four days after their first-ever World Cup victory, against Namibia.
Dominici was delighted with the result and the team's play. 'We are very happy about our game and we gave a lot of pleasure to the fans,' he said. 'We pushed ourselves to score tries.'
South Africa face the United States later Sunday in Montpellier in the final pool match of the tournament.
In addition to the France-New Zealand and Argentina-Scotland games, the other quarter-final matches see Australia facing England on October 6 and South Africa squaring off against Fiji the following day, both matches to be played in Marseille.
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