Victory does not vindicate selection

The important thing is we won this match. It was the equivalent of playing in a cup final and Ireland clearly knew it was not going to be easy, although it turned out to be tougher than expected, writes Donal Spring, rugby analyst.

The only try of the game came from a loose ball and a piece of inspiration from Keith Wood, who sent Alan Quinlan in against the run of play. That score won the game for Ireland because it changed the whole complexion of the match in one moment. Ireland were ahead despite being under huge pressures in all areas.

The other significant event occurred after that, when Argentina opted to run a penalty under the Irish posts. It seemed odd given it was such an early stage of the game when three points were essential.

The outstanding performers for Ireland were Denis Hickie, who made the most of anything that came his way; Kevin Maggs, who, on Ronan O'Gara's introduction, started to punch holes in the Argentina midfield, which we always knew was vulnerable; and both second rows for controlling Ireland's lineouts well and eventually taking over their opponents' lineout when Argentina got tired late in the game.

Also John Hayes, who had one of his best games for Ireland in the front row and, of course, Wood - not for his general play but for those touches of inspiration at vital times. Obviously the try was one, while he also sent Marcus Horan on a run down the left wing at a crucial period in the second half. He also robbed two balls from Argentina rucks late in the game.

The debate about team selection, particularly the back row, will continue. People will argue the end justifies the means and the result vindicates selection. I disagree. I believe the second half showed the style of game we should have played from the beginning. We should have moved Argentina around the park early on and the man to do that was O'Gara, not Humphreys, supported by a pure openside wing forward in the person of Keith Gleeson.

Our possession was turned over a number of times in the first half because the back row selected were too tall. Every team needs a ground player. The reason for picking the back row we did was to counter Argentina around the sides. This didn't seem to work in the first half as they continuously made ground.

Eddie O'Sullivan deserves credit for bringing O'Gara in when he did. It was a brave decision and the correct one. He understood that if the game continued as it was going, we were in trouble and although there was only a point in it at the end, Ireland looked the more likely side to score in the last 20 minutes.

It's a bit worrying we didn't put at least one more chance away and close the match completely. We had better players on the pitch than Argentina but they have benefited from playing most of their rugby in the last 24 months against top-class teams, while we have played too many bad sides. For our game to improve and become more consistent, we need to play more tough matches.

The Argentinian forward play in the first 40 minutes was more cohesive than anything we have produced so far in the tournament. We don't seem to be able to get out of third gear.

What was extraordinary about the game was that there were so few scrums, the first coming after 17½ minutes. This suited Ireland and the man to thank was referee Andre Watson, who played advantage to the full on every occasion.

When Argentina look back at the game, they will be furious with themselves for the manner in which their lineout fell apart. It seemed to me to be caused by tiredness and lack of concentration. Their forwards were also being moved around the pitch at that stage. I suspect also they had not fully recovered from their gruelling World Cup schedule and I'm sure we'll hear more about that.

We can now look forward to the match against Australia next week and, more importantly, to the quarter-finals against France. It will be interesting to see what side O'Sullivan picks for the Australia match. I think he should go with his best side, obviously to try and win the match but more importantly to try to develop a pattern and game plan for the following week.

(In an interview with Johnny Watterson).