Beaten by ten points by New Zealand last week, Ireland recovered well by beating Argentina, France's opponent next week, with a score of 22-19 in Dublin. But the XV of Clover got scared.
“Three or four matches in one”. This is how Andy Farrell, the coach of the Ireland team, described the performance of his team, victorious 22-19 against Argentina on Friday evening at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. After the 13-23 defeat against the All Blacks last week, the XV du Trèfle wanted to return to victory against a less well ranked team (3rd against 5th), against whom it has not lost since the quarter-final of the 2015 World Cup, and he fulfilled his mission by winning 22-19, but everything was not convincing, far from it.
Ireland largely dominated the first half, however, returning to the locker room leading 22-9. The Greens scored three tries, by Jack Crowley (4th) and Mack Hansen (6th) in numerical superiority following Matias Moroni's yellow card in the 2nd minute, and by Joe McCarthy in the 32nd, Crowley scored the points with his foot, while only Tomas Albornoz scored points for the Pumas, thanks to three penalties. But in the second period, the Argentines started strong with a superb 45m try from Juan Cruz Mallia in the 45th (22-16), then Albornoz signed a new penalty in the 51st (22-19). However, no points were scored in the last half hour, and Ireland, who trembled until the final seconds, escaped.
Farrell: “An inglorious way”
“Obviously we are delighted with this victory. There are things we needed to learn from last week and others we didn't sort out on the field. We said last week that we had a chance to win in an inglorious way. That’s what we did this week, so it’s a good thing,” Farrell commented after the match. Ireland's next opponent: Fiji. The Argentines, for their part, may harbor regrets after this meeting in Dublin, and there is no doubt that they will arrive highly motivated next Friday at the Stade de France to challenge the Blues. “This match was decided by a very small margin. We will learn a lot from this match, admitted Mellia. The team is growing week by week, game by game, and this is elite rugby, we are playing one of the best teams in the world. We need to continue to improve but we are on the right track and we are very proud of this team. »The Blues have been warned.
France
