Argentina sweep Ireland

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Argentina sweep Ireland

Argentina won their home rugby series against Ireland 2-0 with a 16-0 victory in the second Test in Argentina this morning.

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The Fallout continues this article is from Irish Independent - now if anyone else tells me off for congratulating Connolly on seeking depth read on

Irish underbelly as soft as feared

Argentina 16 Ireland 0

By David Kelly
Monday June 04 2007

AS if scoring their first duck egg in nine years of international rugby against a hotch-potch of second-string choices and amateurs wasn't wounding enough, the Irish side couldn't even drown their sorrows as governorship elections rendered Buenos Aires a virtually dry city on Saturday night.

But not even copious amounts of alcohol could numb the stark realisation that the genuine hangover from this grim fortnight's viewing was that Ireland's resources are thinly stretched once they are forced to delve beyond the first 22, especially amongst the backs.

Once one looks beyond the golden generation who have gleaned three Triple Crowns in four seasons, the bleak reality is that a second-choice Irish side couldn't eke out a win in two attempts against a scratch Argentina side, arguably featuring only a mere four of their strongest starting line-up.

It's a grim reality few have sought to challenge, although perhaps some succour should be salved from Ireland A's confident performance in dismissing the challenge of a strong Scottish side in England on Saturday.

Eddie O'Sullivan did admit his disappointment in losing both Tests but stressed the main challenge was to garner knowledge in the quest to unearth sufficient quality to ballast his first-choice squad.

"That was the main task and the strategy was always risky in that we might lose the two Tests," he said.

"But in terms of where the World Cup squad is, I'm wiser now than I was before.

"I've a better headset on what the World Cup squad will be. That was the main purpose of the trip."

O'Sullivan conceded that whereas he had his mind made up about 60 per cent of his 30-man World Cup party, the last three weeks has pushed that number up to the 80 per cent.

"I'll still have a few issues when the Scotland game comes around," he said in reference to the Murrayfield fixture on August 10.

When pressed, O'Sullivan revealed his concern at the dearth in back-line resources compared to the contrasting surfeit in the pack, especially the back five, which remains easily the most contentious area of debate.

Although the likes of Barry Murphy, Rob Kearney and Brian Carney showed flashes of promise, none provided compelling evidence that they could be the answer to a conundrum prompted by unthinkable injury woes within the first-choice back-line.

The only headache solved behind the scrum on the evidence of both matches was the potential of Gavin Duffy to cover the problematic inside centre berth, while also adding versatility to the mix.

"That's a fair comment," responded O'Sullivan when probed as to the problems yet again revealed in the admittedly makeshift back-line, where shoddy passing, spillages and poor tactics were the order of the day.

"We looked a bit thin in the backs over the last two weeks and we struggled with the pace of the game and the intensity.

"But when you look at today's backs, none of the midfield start for their clubs so it's a big ask.

"I had to bring them out and give them a chance and let them play.

"That's a lack of experience and exposure at that level. The forwards did very well. The scrum was very good today.

"I thought we had them under pressure in that corner and I thought the referee was a bit lenient. The line-out functioned fairly well despite the wind."

Composed

Debutant Kearney, who looked composed despite not being alone in committing a couple of glaring blips, was a little more self-deprecating in his reflections on another poor display from the backs.

"We can't make excuses for the mistakes because we work on our handling every day as professionals," said the Leinster wing.

"Not to produce just isn't good enough, even if it is a new back-line. Poor handling was our downfall on the day."

Poor decision-making didn't help either. Having benefited from Lyndon Bray's generosity last week, the hapless Kelvin Deaker absolved himself of any interest in refereeing the scrum, yet Ireland grunted for six successive set-pieces before half time.

Surely a line-out maul, from which they scored last week's penalty try, was the better option as they were clearly not going to get anything from the impotent Deaker.

"That would have been a cop-out," suggested Sheahan. "We wanted to keep going. We should have had a penalty try from the third scrum when they folded underneath us."

When another decision went against them as Argentina swept upfield, Federico Todeschini punished the unlucky Jeremy Staunton's profligacy and Simon Best's decision-making, preventing a 7-3 deficit and pushing the hosts to 6-0. "That was the key moment," rued O'Sullivan.

With Brian Carney puzzlingly hugging the touchline, he failed to influence the game and thus failed to advance his World Cup claims all that much.

At times, Ireland played into the dour Argentinians' hands by picking and driving at the wrong time. Like last week, Ireland created plenty of chances with decent field position, especially in the first half, but their execution was risible at times.

Bryan Young was also denied a glaring try-scoring opportunity when he failed to barge over from a metre following Staunton's impressive break.

Argentina created less in both games but somehow managed the 2-0 win.

What all this means ahead of September 30 is questionable, barring the undeniable psychological boost afforded the Argentinians, except to confirm that Ireland's resources are as skeletal as one had suspected.

As Irish supporters wearily pondered the evidence as they left the Velez Sarsfield Stadium on Saturday night, such foreboding would have driven them to drink, and most eventually did eke out hostelries which fulfilled their primal needs.

One can only hope the Irish squad can be as resourceful when the World Cup comes knocking.

- David Kelly