Hugo Keenan scored a hat-trick as Ireland notched six tries in a big Nations Championship bonus-point win over Argentina
Hugo Keenan notched a hat-trick as Ireland blew Argentina away in Dublin to secure a statement 42-12 Nations Championship victory.
On a night of big positives for Andy Farrell’s charges, they scored six tries through full-back Keenan’s three, hooker Dan Sheehan, fly-half Sam Prendergast and replacement front row Ronan Kelleher.
Argentina scored two tries through wing Mateo Carreras, and actually landed the opener in the Test, but by 55 minutes the contest was over, with the visitors totally outplayed.
Ireland – Tries: Keenan (15,30,50), Sheehan (25), Prendergast (42), Kelleher (55). Cons: Prendergast (15,26,30,42,51), Frawley (56).
Argentina – Tries: M Carreras (10,46). Cons: Albornoz (46).
Indiscipline also proved a thorn for the Pumas again as centre Justo Piccardo and replacement lock EfraÃn Elias were shown costly yellow cards, with a vibrant Ireland needing little invitation to attack and score points.
A typically cagey and physical beginning to the fixture saw the visitors strike for the opening try in the 10th minute – wing Carreras claiming an inch-perfect Tomás Albornoz kick-pass over the head of final defender Craig Casey in a wonderful piece of playmaking skill.
Mateo Carreras soared in the air to collect an inch-perfect Tomás Albornoz kick-pass for the opening try
The Irish response came within five minutes, though, as a Casey-led counter-ruck earned territory, before a scintillating backline move saw Robert Baloucoune arc round and make great yards at pace, Mack Hansen offload inside brilliantly, and Keenan collect to finish.
Prendergast added the conversion for an early lead after Albornoz had earlier failed off the tee, while three superb Irish turnovers soon earned them the chance to strike again.
Ireland responded quickly through Keenan’s first after sharp work from Rob Baloucoune and Mack Hansen
First, flanker Nick Timoney exquisitely won a breakdown penalty by his own try-line to quell a Pumas surge. Then, Tadhg Beirne got up to steal an Argentina lineout, while Timoney came up with the breakdown goods again soon after – this time on the halfway line.
When Ireland kicked to touch and into 22, an intricate move off a lineout saw Sheehan play a blind inside ball for Timoney to charge forward. The Ulster flanker was stopped just short, but quick Casey service saw Sheehan fly over for a 14-5 lead.
Ireland captain Dan Sheehan got over for their second try at the Aviva Stadium
Five minutes later, Ireland had their third try through Keenan again. Ryan Baird won another lineout steal to instigate the attack, with Ireland’s full-back then doing marvellously well to battle and bounce his way over past a number of Argentina defenders.
Keenan wrestled his way over past a number of defenders for his second and Ireland’s third try of the first half
When Prendergast converted, the Irish lead stood at 21-5, and worse looked likely to follow when Pumas centre Piccardo was sin-binned for giving away a cynical penalty in not being back 10 metres off a Sheehan quick-tap penalty.
Argentina centre Justo Piccardo was sent to the sin-bin during the first half
Ireland failed to add a fourth score before the break, however, as Sheehan was illegally halted in the corner by replacement Leonel Oviedo – referee Luke Pearce just about decreeing penalty-only was sufficient.
Argentina were fortunate to avoid the concession of a penalty try before half-time for an illegal tackle on Sheehan
Ireland put it behind them to score their bonus-point clinching fourth try less than two minutes into the second half, with Prendergast throwing a dummy bought by Marcos Kremer and racing in from deep.
Sam Prendergast celebrates his try early in the second half, as Ireland restarted strongly
The Pumas replied with their second try four minutes later, when centre Santiago Chocobares made the key break and Carreras powered his way over past Keenan, but Ireland then kicked on to another level.
The tireless Beirne won a trademark breakdown penalty deep in the Argentina half to earn the platform, with quick hands from Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy and then Baird giving Keenan the space to dive over for his third.
Keenan completed his hat-trick in the 50th minute, wrapping up the game as a contest at that stage
With Baird continuing to cause havoc at the Argentina lineout with steals, the Pumas were soon back down to 14 players when the TMO showed images of Elias catching Keenan high in a shoulder-to-head tackle.
From the very next lineout, Ireland constructed a tight maul which drove forward at pace and was finished by Kelleher for their sixth try of the night.
Replacement Ciaran Frawley’s conversion brought Ireland to their eventual 42-12 score, and head coach Farrell will be irked somewhat they failed to add more points from what was left in the Test.
Ireland added a sixth try through a dominant rolling maul, scored by Ronan Kelleher
Hansen showed some sensational skill and came close to both creating and scoring tries in what remained, but Kelleher’s lineout performance was the central reason behind the home side failing to score more tries – the replacement coughing up a host of possession at the set-piece.
Farrell ‘delighted’ with win but warns: ‘We have to be more ruthless’
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell said post-match:
“First and foremost, delighted to get the win and a good win at that. Six tries to two says a lot.
“Delighted to get the season off with a big win but I think the first game, we will learn a lot from that. It’s a good place to be.
“We started really well in terms of being really clinical, we got into the 22 and scored two tries. We were dominant in that territory, which is what you want at this level.
“If you look at Hugo Keenan, Ryan Baird and Andrew Porter, lads who have not played international rugby in a while who have stepped up, Mack Hansen is another one, so I’m delighted for them.
“How we can be a bit more ruthless [is a lesson to take], because that’s the team we want to be.”
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell praised his side’s efforts, but warns they must be more ‘ruthless’
Keenan: Still a lot of work for us to do and get better at
Ireland’s player of the match, Hugo Keenan said:
“You miss it. It’s been 21 months since I’ve been here [Aviva Stadium] in green and it’s been tough watching on.
“A bit like the rest of the lads, I’m just delighted to be out here and wanting to make this brilliant crowd proud and do them justice.
“I was at the end of three good plays, they were walk-ins to be honest, I’ll take any.
“We got a bonus point playing against a really tough Argentina side. To beat them by 30 points and not play to our full potential is exciting because there is a lot to work on and get better at.
“We know every point counts. It’s three tough games. We need to put ourselves in the best position and worry about what we can control.”
Beirne: We were very good in patches
Ireland’s Tadhg Beirne said post-match:
“I think we were very good in patches, and some of the tries we scored were proper team tries.
“We’ll be walking away from that game thinking we could have got a lot more out of it. There were some good parts for sure, but there’s certainly a lot of parts we could have been better.
“It’s a great starting point for us, we know we need to keep improving. Fiji will be a challenge, we know they like to throw the ball about, and South Africa after that, but all eyes on Fiji. We need to keep improving the performance.”
What’s next?
For Ireland, they next face Fiji in their second Nations Championship Test of the autumn at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday, November 14 (8.10pm kick-off).
Ireland’s Nations Championship fixtures and results
| Australia 31-33 Ireland | July 4 |
| Japan 20-36 Ireland | July 11 |
| New Zealand 40-21 Ireland | July 18 |
| Ireland 42-12 Argentina | November 6 |
| Ireland vs Fiji | Saturday, November 14 (8.10pm) |
| Ireland vs South Africa | Saturday, November 21 (4.40pm) |
Argentina travel to face Italy in Genoa for their next Test, also on Saturday November 14 (11.40am kick-off GMT).
Leave a Reply