RUGBY
Loss of key players proves costly for Ireland
By Daire Walsh
THERE was bitter disappointment for Ireland in the Millennium Stadium on Sunday afternoon, when a slick Argentina side brought their 2015 Rugby World Cup campaign to a halt in comprehensive fashion.
Injuries to Jared Payne, Jonathan Sexton, Paul O’Connell and Peter O’Mahony meant that the Irish were forced to field without a wealth of experience, and following his citing for an off-the-ball incident involving France’s Pascal Pape, powerhouse flanker Sean O’Brien was also serving a one-week suspension.
Tommy Bowe was forced out of the action with just 12 minutes gone on the clock, but with fly-half Nicolas Sanchez in devastating form, the Pumas were full value for their victory. The results over the weekend means that the four semi-final spots in the competition will be occupied by Southern Hemisphere nations (New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and Argentina), and despite finishing top of their pool for the second time in succession, Ireland are yet to qualify for the final-four at the Rugby World Cup Finals.
Despite losing so many key players, there was still a lot of optimism surrounding the Ireland team following the impressive displays of Ian Madigan, Iain Henderson and Chris Henry when they were introduced against the French.
Yet, even at full strength, Argentina were always going to be a difficult proposition, and this was evident during the opening ten minutes of the contest, when Matias Moroni and Juan Imhoff crossed over the Irish whitewash.
The loss of Bowe was a further set-back to Ireland’s prospects, but despite falling 17 points behind just past the first-quarter mark, the Ulster man’s replacement – Luke Fitzgerald – helped the Six Nations Champions to eventually settle into the proceedings.
With Argentinean prop Ramiro Herrera in the sin-bin, Fitzgerald drove powerfully over the line, and with Madigan adding the bonuses, they had reduced their deficit to ten points (20-10) in time for the interval.
Indeed, another outstanding break from Fitzgerald provided the platform for a Murphy try after the restart, and even though swapped efforts between Madigan and Sanchez ensured that the South Americans still held a slender cushion, the game was certainly there for Ireland if they wanted it.
Unfortunately, the final-quarter belonged to Argentina, and after a Sanchez penalty had allowed them to settle, further tries from Imhoff and Joaquin Tuculet meant that Ireland’s World Cup ultimately ended in a 43-20 defeat.
It remains to be seen when Ireland’s Leinster contingent will return to provincial action, and without the services of 19 World Cup stars, Leo Cullen’s Blues suffered a 25-14 reversal at the hands of Scarlets on Friday evening in Llanelli.
Returning Canadian World Cup winger DTH van der Merwe registered two tries for the Welsh outfit, before Newbridge College graduate James Tracy (with his first score at competitive level for the Leinster first-team) and Isa Nacewa tries added some respectability to the scoreboard.
There was positive news on the domestic front for Naas RFC, though, as the Forenaughts side held on to third place in the Ulster Bank League Division 2A table with a 33-21 success over Queen’s University.