Better Ireland still seeking answers after vital win
Seeking a response to a jarring defeat against the All Blacks seven days prior, Ireland's victory against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium on Friday served to answer some questions while presenting a few more.
Andy Farrell called it "three or four games in one" and, as such, there was good, bad and ugly in the host's performance.
Having taken the lead in the second minute, Ireland were never behind but, after failure to score in the second half, ended the contest against 14 men clinging on to a slender 22-19 advantage.
The game had seemed in hand at half-time, yet come the final whistle the overriding emotion in Dublin was one of relief.
Without consecutive losses since the opening two fixtures of the 2021 Six Nations, Ireland's response to setbacks has so often been emphatic.
Whether it be overcoming a first Test defeat to win the series in New Zealand in 2022, putting their World Cup 2023 heartache behind them with a stirring away win in France to start the most recent Six Nations, or looking decidedly outplayed in the first Test against South Africa this summer only to turn the tables seven days later - Farrell's Ireland have proven masters at lifting themselves from the canvas.
But, beaten so decisively by the All Blacks last week when discipline was a massive issue and the attack misfired, rarely in recent times had it felt like there was so much to fix from one game to the next.
Prior to kick-off, Farrell said some of his players were "lucky" to get the opportunity to atone for their opening autumn performance. When asked after the nerve-shredding 82 minutes if he had got the desired response, he replied "in parts".
Argentina, who have now lost all 11 Tests they have played in Dublin, have beaten France, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia in this calendar year alone. As such, they were never likely to allow Ireland to have things solely their own way.
But, while there was a slice of luck involved in the way that Matias Moroni's yellow card negated the centre's own early try, Ireland could not have asked for a better platform than two tries in the opening five minutes.
A third, as well as a disallowed fourth through Tadhg Beirne, would follow before the turn, but Ireland failed to score a single point across the game's final 48 minutes.
Key to ensuring the win required such a dramatic final defensive stand was Irish ill-discipline.
While Argentina failed to take advantage of yellow cards for Finlay Bealham and Joe McCarthy, and would see two players sent to the sin bin themselves, Ireland conceded 13 penalties for the second game in succession.
After years of being one of the best drilled sides in world rugby, the referee's whistle is becoming an increasingly prominent issue for this Irish outfit. Across their past three Test matches, they have allowed the opposition 18 successful shots at their posts.
"It's something that we’ve been outstanding on over the last ten years, actually," said Farrell.
"But certainly in that amount of time you’re saying there [the past three games], it’s not done out of players going out there to be ill-disciplined. It’s coming from the right place, if that may sound stupid.
"All they’re trying to do is do the right thing by their team, They just need to be a little more patient individually and trust the team and what they’re about."
If the most immediate area requiring improvement is readily apparent, the bigger picture remains Ireland's transition from a team for today into one built for tomorrow.
One of Farrell's biggest strengths in his role has been as a selector, with his decisions - picking Jamison Gibson-Park and Mack Hansen at times when few were calling for them to start offering just two examples - often proving so prescient that the initial wider doubts have been largely forgotten.
Having selected a team so obviously for the present rather than the future against the All Blacks, some quarters were calling for wholesale changes and an infusion of youth.
Rather than opt to discard so many of those who had taken the side to number one in the world, the soon-to-be British and Irish Lions head coach rotated minimally for the Pumas, bringing in Robbie Henshaw for Bundee Aki for the only change to the starting side.
There was greater upheaval to his bench, with Sam Prendergast, Craig Casey and Ryan Baird included at the expense of Frawley, Conor Murray and Iain Henderson, while the uncapped prop Thomas Clarkson debuted as a replacement with Tadhg Furlong and Tom O'Toole ruled out through injury.
The 21-year-old Prendergast and Jamie Osborne, 22, in particular caught the eye in their cameos as Farrell weighs up how best to integrate the next generation into his side moving forward.
A side that can beat opposition as good as Argentina even on a day when not firing on all cylinders is not one to be cast aside quickly, and greater rotation is surely in store against Fiji next week, but the pace of such change will remain a source of debate.
