With Ireland mauling, Argentina prove they belong among the elite of the Rugby

Argentina made its day in Rugby Union on Sunday by advancing to the World Cup semi-finals as part of an unprecedented sweep by teams from the Southern Hemisphere.

With Ireland mauling, Argentina prove they belong among the elite of the Rugby

Ireland got destroyed by Argentina by 43-20 at Cardiff ‘s Millennium Stadium, will face Australia, who beat Scotland by 3534 in London, while New Zealand will play South Africa. Argentina will be the outsider in the group but is a live contender. “We have played in the Rugby Championship for the last four years and this has prepared us to play at this level of intensity on a weekly basis, so we will be ready.” Argentina’s coach, Daniel Hourcade, said, referring to an annual competition that includes Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Argentina’s return to the final four buried any fears that their first such appearance, in 2007, might be a glorious one-time event, in the vein of Bulgaria’s run in the 1994 football World Cup and Kenya’s in the 2003 cricket World Cup. Ireland, who they vanquished, are the two-time defending champion of the Six Nations Championship annual competition among top European teams. The Pumas have history with Ireland though, having earned their first World Cup playoff win, in 1999, again.

This time, in a gripping, fluctuating contest, Argentina led from the start. It swept to a 17-point lead in the first 13 minutes and then allowed Ireland to claw its way back, to the point where the Irish fly-half Ian Madigan could have tied the score at 23-23 with a 59th-minute penalty. Madigan’s shot slid outside the post, though, and Ireland did not get as close against them and beating them to clinch their pool on way to the 2007 semi-finals. “Getting back to 23-23 would have been a massive confidence boost for a team which was probably lacking a bit of experience,” said Ireland’s coach, Joe Schmidt, who was missing four first-choice players and lost a fifth, wing Tommy Bowe, to an early injury.

Instead, Argentina pulled away with late tries by fullback Joaquin Tuculet and the brilliant wing Juan Imhoff, and fly-half Nicolas Sanchez, named the man of the match, took his points tally with the boot to 23. “I don’t know how to explain it,” said Argentina’s ecstatic captain Agustin Creevy. “We have been looking for this for a long time. I can’t come to terms with it. We’re in the semi-final. “Argentina’s opening was dev astating-with slick passing in volving both backs and forwards players seeking space rather than contact and the whole width of the field being used.