Pumas Maul Scots

Both sides made a slightly nervous start, with Garryowens raining down from both Fullbacks. Hernadez missed a drop goal in the very first minute, and he chased his own kicks like a man possessed.

The Scots conceded a penalty in the 15 minutes, with Felipe Contepomi not able to hit the target. One minute later, Dan Parks [right] made no mistake for Scotland, taking a 0-3 lead.

It was cagey for the next five minutes or so, before Nathan Hines was penalised for a high tackle - this time, Contepomi did the honours and it was back to level pegging, 3-3.

Argentina won a lineout in Scottish territory, and Hernandez went for another of his trademark drop goals, but it floated wide. Two minutes later, the Scots were penalised again, with Contepomi sure with the boot, giving Argentina a 6-3 lead.

Just after the half hour, Fullback Rory Lamont kicked the ball out on the full, giving the Argentines an attacking lineout. They won it, but were turned over. But Dan Parks' clearance kick was charged down and the Scottish defence couldn't beat Gonzalo Longo [left] to the ball, he dived over it and slid across the line. Contepomi added the extras to give Argentina a 13-3 lead, and a significan psychological advantage.

With three minutes to go before half time, the Argentine forwards gave away a soft penalty at a ruck, and Chris Paterson punted the ball for the points, the Scots clawing back the defict to 13-6.

Scotland needed a score to steady their nerves after the break, but instead they gave away a penalty for bringing down an Argentine maul - once again, Felipe Contepomi's boot punished the indescretion and they were 16-6 up.

At 49 minutes, Argentina infringed but Dan Parks could not add the three points from a long range attempt, Scotland's first miss of the tournament. Not a good time to buckle! A few minutes later, Lucas Borges took a wonderful high ball from a Scottish boot, passed back to the Fullback Corleto, who booted it down the touchline, just bouncing out by the corner flag.

Back in Scottish territory, the Pumas won the chance of a lineout, Mario Ledesma's [left] throw found his man and the ball worked it's way to Juan Martin Hernandez who dropped a lovely goal, inching them further in front at 19-6.

After 57 minutes, Frank Hadden decided to bring on four replacements to try and change the direction of the Scots' game. But they were still making plenty of unforced errors, gifting possession and territory to the Pumas - something for which the Argentines made them pay. Even with a man down injured, the Pumas still manage to get themselves into Scottish territory.

In the 61st minute, Scotland woke up, made a great break, the ball going through countless pairs of hands. Finally the replacements had made their mark - Kelly Brown and Chris Cusiter [right] being the men to work it over the line. Paterson's 100% kicking record still stood - the ball bouncing over the crossbar from the left hand upright. A vital score for the Scots, who were back in the game at 19-13.

Three minutes later, Rory Lamont [left] made a second serious error when he knocked a long kick from the Pumas out into touch, giving Argentina a great lineout opportunity. But they knocked on at the rear; the Scottish scrum was in trouble, time to wheel on the rest of the replacements, including Hugo Southwell on for the hapless Lamont.

The Scots had another scrum in their own half, and although they won it, the ball was turned over almost immediately. But Agustin Pichot was disrupted at the base of a ruck, giving the initiative back to the men in dark blue.

No sooner did they get the ball than Argentina turned them over again. The Pumas' discipline was beginning to slip, giving Scotland a great scoring opportunity from a 10m lineout. It was blown when the throw went long and into waiting Pumas paws. They had another go from close to the half way line, but the Scots were having trouble turning possession and territory into the vital points.

Patricio Albacete [left] made a silly error to give Parks a long kick for the corner. Scott Lawson found his man at the lineout and the Scottish forwards rumbled on slowly towards the Pumas' line. The ball was spun into midfield, turned over to Argentina, won back by the Scots in front of the posts. The clock was ticking down, with 90 seconds to go. A crossfield chip went towards Sean Lamont but it went out into touch. Perhaps the move which blew their chances at the Semifinal.

The Scots had one final chance at glory, with seconds to go. Agustin Pichot knocked on in his own in-goal area - the Scots got a 5m scrum but they squandered the chance and knocked on as the clock went over 80 minutes. The canny Argentines have survived for another week - their very first World Cup Semifinal. Go Pumas!
Who knows, we could have a France-Argentina final - finishing the tournament as it began. How weird would that be?

Perfect Pumas!

Ireland came out with all guns blazing, the first couple of minutes saw some ferocious tackling. Ireland won a penalty close to the Argentinian line and O'Gara immediately went for the corner. Jerry Flannery [right] threw to Paul O'Connell but it went straight through his fingers, into Argentinian hands at the back of the lineout.

Argentina had a punt at goal in the 9th minute, but Felipe Contepomi couldn't manage to score. They nearly had a try shortly after with a chip and chase, but the Irish defence held firm.

The first 10 minutes saw Irland in charge, but the next twenty seemed to belong to Argentina. In the 14th minute, Argentina had a great drive to the line, the forwards rumbling along, eventually winning a put-in at the scrum on 5m from the Irish line. From the back, it swung out to the right wing and Lucas Borges [left] went over for a vital first score. The conversion went wide, so it was only 5-0 up for Argentina.

Ireland won a penalty in the 19th minute, this time Ronan O'Gara chose to take 3 sure points to make it 5-3. At the restart, Argentina were on the attack, and the try wasn't quite on, so Juan Martín Hernández [right] dropped a lovely goal from midfield to nullify the Ireland penalty.

In the 23rd minute, Hernández took a fantastic high ball like a pro fullback, and the resulting chip ahead from Agustin Pichot saw O'Gara have to clear to touch in panic. Phases from the lineout and resulting scrum saw Argentina push right up to the line, only coming up short with a knock-on.

The Ireland scrum was won but they had to clear quickly from the in-goal area, giving Argentina a couple of attacking lineouts in the Irish half. Eventually, Argentina were done for not releasing the ball, and O'Gara finally found a good kick into the opponents' half. Ireland were making headway, but some hard tackles saw Ireland driven 20m back into their own half.

Soon after, Ignacio Corleto gave away a penalty by shouldering Geordan Murphy. From the penalty, Brian O'Driscoll [left] ran through the Argentine defence to score next to the posts, the first try Argentina have conceded so far, and the conversion came easily to bring Ireland into the lead, 8-10.

The pendulum seemed to swing back again, with the Irish bossing things around. Argentina won a scrum on the half way line, and they were back into attack mode in the Irish half. The defence held the try at bay, but Hernández took another pop at goal to bring the lead back to the Pumas, 11-10.

It was another fantastic piece of play in the Irish half, which started with Hernández again taking a high kick of his own, some great passing out of the tackle and winger Horacio Agulla scores a try in the corner! Contepomi converted with a bounce off the woodwork. Ireland looked in trouble, going in at the break 18-10.

After the restart, Argentina mauled their way into the Irish half, won a penalty and Contepomi did the honours - 21-10. Another nail in the Irish coffin...

The men in green worked their way patiently upfield from a lineout, but Argentina turned it over. They cleared, but Ireland had another lineout, worked it across field and Geordan Murphy [right] was the last man in the line to dive over in the right corner. O'Gara's kick went wide, so it was 21-15.

At 50 minutes, Ireland won a scrum in their own half, kicked high, but it was a 22m dropout. Just after, Argentina lost their lineout, but turned over Ireland's attack, and drilled the ball back into the Irish 10m zone. Argentina's turnover abilities seemed prolific - how often did we see green go to ground with the ball, only for it to emerge in the hands of a blue and white jersey?

Just when Ireland seemed to be putting a few phases of play together, they have a shocking forward pass and give Argentina the scrum 40m out. In the 61st minute, Argentina forced another penalty and Contepomi added another three to take them 24-16 in front. Donncha O'Callaghan [left] made a high tackle on Contepomi in the 64th minute, and gave away another penalty - 27-16 ahead. The Irish hill seemed insurmountable - time to bring on some subs.

In the 67th minute, Ireland nearly touched down but for a massive defensive catch from Ignacio Corleto, taking the ball out of his hands. Argentina camped in the Irish half again, going through the phases and waiting patiently for points any way they can - drop goal, penalty or try. Pichot passed but the drop goal attempt was wide.

The Pumas pack had the game by the scruff of the neck, rucking for their lives, turning over possession and making massive hits. Ireland had a late renaissance during the last ten minutes. Roncero gave away a penalty in his own half, and Ireland went for the corner. The lineout was taken well, the Irish supporters were singing away, the forwards rumbled on, possession was kicked away and Argentina's scrambled defence took off the heat.

The final nail in the coffin came in the 79th minute when Juan Martín Hernández slotted a left-footed drop goal, his hatrick, taking their final tally to 30-15.

Every time Ireland came at them, the Pumas seemed to have an answer. They looked by far the sharper team, and can now look forward to a quarter final against Scotland in Paris, sending the French to Cardiff to face the All Blacks for their quarterfinal. Not at all what the host nation had hoped for, and those pesky Pumas have done them no favours. And with the way Scotland have played so far, they must be seen as underdogs for the match - so who knows how far the Pumas can go? Good for them!

A month ago, who would have put money on England and Scotland being the only two home nations to make it into the quarters? And I'm not betting my mortgage on how long Eddie O'Sullivan can remain in his job, after such a promising Irish team (at least on paper) have failed to deliver. Funny old game, eh?

Georgia Front Up To Argentina

The Argentines had a quick turn round from their bruising game in Paris, and although Georgia are not one of Europe's top tier nations, they are very physical and really stood up to the South Americans, who must have been tired with only 5 days since their last run out.

[Georgia show some flair against France in the 2005 IRB London Sevens]

After 27 minutes, the two teams were still level at 3-all. The Georgian defence was immense, with Argentina having one chance under the posts. It wasn't until 47 minutes that Lucas Borges [right] crossed for the first of his brace of tries, the second coming just ten minutes later. Felipe Contepomi converted the first to take Argentina ahead.

Georgia's Irakli Machkhaneli had a fantastic game, as did their big lock Mamuka Gorgodze. However, it was Argentina's lock Patricio Albacete [left] who made the next score, storming over the line at 71 minutes.

Three minutes later, Georgia's other lock, Ilia Zedginidze made a try-saving tackle, but just into injury time, Martin Aramburu went over the line for the all-important 4th try, giving the Argentines that vital bonus point, and leaving the final score at 33-3.