Impatient Ireland get there in the end

Ireland and Argentina may be destined for repeat meetings, but their meetings don't exactly make for repeat viewing.

As with previous instalments, this match won't have a cherished place in the video vault, and the best thing that can be said about it, by some distance, was that Ireland got there in the end.

When it comes to analysing what was a poor Irish performance, it's perhaps best to remind ourselves again who they were playing. Few teams beat Los Pumas playing pretty rugby.

Think back to their World Cup opener against Australia, Ireland's previous two victories over them, Marseilles last week and countless other examples.

Many a leading side has come unstuck against them, and to beat them you often have to win ugly.

Argentina have a way of bringing every team down to their level, of engaging them in forward-orientated trench/territorial warfare.

A wet ball and a stiff wind blowing into those unfortunates in the south terrace, intermingled with sheets of slanting rain on a cold night in Dublin, probably suited them.

They mauled hard and they scrummaged harder, while their no-frills, low-risk running game, such as it was, employed Gonzalo Longo and his fellow rumblers to make Ireland work their socks off and afforded little chance of turnovers in costly positions.

They rucked harder, lower and in greater numbers, forcing and feeding off mistakes.

They spoiled, scrapped and fought - Castres captain Mario Ledesma looked like a man possessed and will no doubt be itching for a scrap against Munster again next Friday night - and most of all tackled big. They'd clearly studied the video of Ireland's win over the Boks and offered scarcely a sliver of daylight amid a thicket of blue and white in midfield.

Agustin Pichot sniped, hassled and serviced those around him, and Felipe Contepomi's first-half performance, especially, was immense, never better evidenced than with his textbook tackle of Ronan O'Gara under his own posts and then muscular steal of the ball.

Yet, in a sense, Argentina got what they deserved. Never the most constructive side in the world at the best of times, they virtually stopped trying to make anything happen in the last half-hour except recycle the ball close-in or kick for territory, running down the clock.

One cannot recall them once bringing their wings into play, and Denis Hickie alone probably had more ball carries than the Argentinian outside backs put together.

That said, there wasn't the same intensity in the Irish performance as there had been a fortnight before, nor indeed in the relatively subdued crowd, until the final quarter, though curiously there were many good individual performances.

Anthony Foley looks in better nick than ever, Paul O'Connell had another big game, Reggie Corrigan and Shane Byrne dug as deep as any Irish forward over the 80 minutes.

The Pumas don't give much chance for opposing opensides to get into the game, and although Johnny O'Connor and Simon Easterby will be disappointed they didn't have more of an impact, especially in freeing up more Irish ruck ball, O'Connor was in support on the isolated occasions when Foley was sent through the Puma line deftly by O'Gara, and Peter Stringer sniped off a ruck.

Unable, or perhaps more to the point, unwilling to make the hard yards and put more of a structure on their game, Ireland somehow seemed to lack patience if things didn't happen immediately for them.

One thinks of their response to going 10-0 down, when Hickie was brought across from the blind side for a set-piece move, then it was taken back up through the middle by the ever-willing O'Connell, whereupon from the recycle Brian O'Driscoll chipped to touch.

The Irish captain and talisman possibly tried too hard, forcing offloads that for once didn't come off. But, typical of him and the team, he didn't shirk hard work, and forced himself into the game by sheer force of will.

Most of all, there was the turnover which led to Federico Martin Aramburu's fifth-minute try. Considering it was a set-piece move when launching Horgan up the middle off a lineout on their 10-metre line, it was extraordinary that as the seconds lapsed only O'Connor and, of all people, O'Gara, hit the breakdown. It looked almost aimless. The Pumas got there in strength, Ledesma ripped out the ball and fed Manuel Contepomi to put his fellow centre over under the posts.

Ireland didn't lack for possession or territory, having the better of both overall. The lineout provided a steady stream of good quality and varied ball. The scrum creaked - not least when Foley failed to control the put-in which led to Stringer's tug conceding a three-pointer and a 16-6 interval deficit - but survived.

Ireland defended well, especially when Argentina had three or so forwards one-off the breakdown to start off another maul and Ireland legitimately stopped it at source with one lone tackler.

This was best evidenced in one of the game's turning points. Contepomi, having restored a 10-point lead with his fourth penalty, and Geordan Murphy having sliced a long kick dead, the Pumas went up the line with a penalty, rolled up their sleeves and sought to turn the screw.

But Shane Byrne nabbed Pichot off the lineout to kick-start a passage of aggressive fringe defence. O'Connell, O'Connor, Corrigan and co pumped their legs and repelled drives and one-off target runners until the Pumas ran out of ideas and Contepomi kicked it across field to Hickie.

That defiance, O'Gara's penalty to make it 12-19 and a spiralling, 60-metre touchfinder finally got the crowd into their first chants of "Ire-land, Ire-land", and O'Gara nibbled away at the lead with a couple more penalties until his marvellous match-winner.

Winning drop goal plays are almost de rigeur in tight finishes. It's what Ireland should have done in near identical circumstances against Australia in the World Cup. But at least they have this in their locker.

In keeping with their performance, Ireland seemed almost impatient with this one, just going through one more phase off O'Connell's lineout via Horgan up the middle, but O'Gara, as he did in the Millennium Stadium two seasons ago, judged the distance to a metre or two.

When Ireland and Argentina meet, there's not much more than that in it.

Ireland 21; Argentina 19

SCORING SEQUENCE: 3 mins: Contepomi pen 0-3; 5: Martin Aramburu try, Contepomi con 0-10; 9: O'Gara drop goal 3-10; 12: Contepomi pen 3-13; 34: O'Gara pen 6-13; 40: Contepomi pen 6-16; (half-time 6-16); 47: O'Gara pen 9-16; 49: Contepomi pen 9-19; 59: O'Gara pen 12-19; 67: O'Gara pen 15-19; 73: O'Gara pen 18-19; 79: O'Gara drop goal 21-19.

IRELAND: G Dempsey (Leinster); G Murphy (Leicester), B O'Driscoll (Leinster, capt), S Horgan (Leinster), D Hickie (Leinster); R O'Gara (Munster), P Stringer (Munster); R Corrigan (Leinster), S Byrne (Leinster), J Hayes (Munster), M O'Kelly (Leinster), P O'Connell (Munster), S Easterby (Llanelli), A Foley (Munster), J O'Connor (Wasps). Replacements: E Miller (Leinster) for O'Connor (64 mins).

ARGENTINA: JM Hernández (Stade Français); L Borges (Pucará), FM Aramburu (Biarritz), M Contepomi (Newman), H Senillosa (Montferrand); F Contepomi (Leinster), A Pichot (Stade Francais, capt); R Roncero (Stade Français), M Ledesma (Castres), O Hasan (Toulouse), R Alvarez (Perpignan), P Albacete (Pau), M Durand (Montpellier), G Longo (Montferrand), L Ostiglia (Padova).

Sinbinned: Longo (73 mins).

Referee: T Spreadbury (England).