Take a look at the Argentina player ratings vs Ireland from their second Autumn Nations Series match in Dublin on Friday night.
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Ireland bounced back from their first home defeat in over three years with a hard-fought 22-19 victory against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium, despite playing with 14 men on two separate occasions.
Having opened their autumn campaign with a loss to New Zealand, Ireland made a strong start, scoring two tries in the first five minutes and adding a third before the break. Tomas Albornoz kept Argentina in touch, slotting three penalties to make it 22-9 at half-time.
The Pumas dominated the second half, scoring all 10 points, including a stunning try from Juan Cruz Mallia, but were unable to pull ahead. Prop Cian Healy, who came off the bench, equalled Brian O’Driscoll’s Irish cap record on a night where Irish discipline was tested.
Argentina pressed for a late winner, spending the final minutes deep in the Irish 22, but a crucial knock-on ended their hopes. The Pumas conclude their northern hemisphere tour against France next Friday, while Ireland face Fiji on Saturday in their third autumn international.
Scroll down for Argentina player ratings vs Ireland.
Ireland: 22
- Tries: Jack Crowley (03′), Mack Hansen (05′), Joe McCarthy (31′)
- Cons: Jack Crowley (04′, 32′)
- Pens:
- Drop-goals: Jack Crowley(20′)
Argentina: 19
- Tries: Juan Cruz Mallia (44′)
- Cons: Tomas Albornoz(45′)
- Pens: Tomas Albornoz (11′, 17′, 25′, 50′)
Argentina player ratings vs Ireland:
After a win against Italy last week, the loss this week for the Pumas was a bit of a blow after such a close game throughout. With a few too many turnovers back to Ireland, the final score landed at 22-19 to Ireland.
Here’s a breakdown of how the Argentinian side performed:
15. Juan Cruz Mallia – 8
Mallia heped out with a great defensive line in the first half which prevented a few opportunities for the Irish to score. Breaking free in the second half, he scored the first try for the Argentinian side, dodging defenders and running half the length of the pitch in order to do so.
14. Rodrigo Isgro – 6.5
Isgro assisted lots of feeds and passes after scrums but made no game-changing decisions.
13. Lucio Cinti – 6
A decent performance from Cinti but he mainly stayed under the radar until the ball was stolen from him by Van der Flier in the first half, denying him the chance to make a name for himself through a try. The same thing happened again in the second half as he got thrown down in a big tackle, meaning he not only had to go off for a quick assessment, but he also caused a knock-on.
12. Matias Moroni – 6
Just 2 minutes into the game Moroni thought he had scored the opening try but it was recalled, and he was sent to the sin bin after the TMO revealed a foul against Ireland’s Crowley. Not a good start from Moroni, but a rough beginning meant his game could only improve…
11. Bautista Delguy – 8
Delguy assisted a try in the opening minutes which, sadly for him, was labelled as a ‘no try,’ meaning his efforts went to waste.
10. Tomas Albornoz – 8.5
The kicker wasn’t given too many opportunities to score in the first half but he kept his team afloat by creating success through penalties. He had a 100% kicking success rate, until he went for a drop goal which would have closed the gap, but he missed.
9. Gonzalo Bertranou – 6
Not much to say in terms of Bertanou’s play today as he stayed under the radar, not making too many mistakes but also not helping his side to a big victory.
8. Joaquin Oviedo – 6
Some great recoveries of the ball in the starting half, yet one awkward tackle forced him to give a penalty to Ireland which gave them the advantage to score.
7. Juan Martin Gonzalez – 6
The Saracens player had a slightly underwhelming game as opposed to his usual performance.
6. Pablo Matera – 7
The flanker is one of the oldest players on the team and with his age shows his wisdom on the pitch too. He kept cool under the pressure of the game and helped close the gap which led to a much tighter game than many had predicted.
5. Pedro Rubiolo – 6.5
Rubiolo made small moves from his position on the second row for his team but these went largely unnoticed.
4. Guido Petti – 7
Teamwork was high between those on the second row tonight, as their defence grew tight and Petti pulled through on closing the gaps with tackles that brought the Irish to the floor on multiple occasions.
3. Joel Sclavi – 7
The prop helped to show up the Irish’s defence tonight, as the Argentinians proved to have a much better defensive team.
2. Julian Montoya (c) – 8
Leading his team well in a game that turned out to have a more even outcome than expected. Montoya had to go for a blood check not far from halfway through, but he didn’t disappear for long as he rejoined the team just a few minutes later, showing his perseverance as captain.
1. Thomas Gallo – 7
His large frame allowed for his great defence to be a huge bonus in this game as he was a force to reckon with, even if he wasn’t given a special mention that often by the commentators, his service did not go unnoticed.
Replacements:
16. Ignacio Ruiz – 6
comes on to replace Montoya as he goes for a blood check and holds up the game for a few minutes before he is swapped back out quickly after Montoya is given the all-clear.
17. Ignacio Calles
18. Francisco Gomez Kodela – 5
Kodela proved to be a slight burden to his team as he was pulled up for a yellow card after a foul tackle, which left his team down to 14 players in the final crucial minutes of the game.
19. Franco Molina – 6
Coming on as a replacement in the second half, Molina’s quick hands helped on numerous lineouts. But, he was the cause of a few fumbles of the ball too.
20. Santiago Grondona – 6
On for the last 20 minutes, Grondona didn’t have much of an opportunity to shine on the pitch.
21. Gonzalo Garcia – 6
As replacement in the second half, Garcia picked up the game and carried on with a nonchalant manner that allowed the other players on his team to stay calm under the pressure of the fast-paced second half. As the game came to a close the heat was rising, but Garcia powered through.
22. Santiago Carreras – 6
Carreras came running on to the field in the second half and made a great impact in the last five minutes as he spotted Osborne who was about to make a run for it and would’ve scored if not for Carreras quick defence.
23. Justo Piccardo
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