Ireland v Argentina: Clear footage of ‘invisible blast’ emerges : Planet Rugby

The final moments of Ireland’s victory over Argentina in the Autumn Nations Series in Dublin were the subject of much debate, but Planet Rugby has obtained clear evidence.

Los Pumas were chasing the game-winning score after coming back from a 22-9 halftime deficit to hold the hosts scoreless in the second half.

Juan Cruz Mallia’s try cut the gap to nine points and Tomas Albornoz added a conversion and a penalty to make it a three-point game.

A controversial call

Ireland went on the attack in the last 10 minutes of the match and scored Argentina under-pumped, leading to a yellow card for veteran prop Francisco Gomez-Kodela that appeared to put the final nail in the coffin for the South Americans.

However, a crucial spot-kick gave the visitors another chance to win and they were keen to make the most of it, going ahead and into Ireland’s 22nd, where they quickly built up a ton of phases in search of the winning score.

But Ireland’s defense stood firm and held off Argentina. Los Pumas forward Joaquin Oviedo’s tackle was spotted by referee Paul Williams and the referee blew the whistle to end the match as Ireland escaped with a minor treble. gain points.

This final play of the match caused huge controversy as the fans could not clearly see the docus in real time and the broadcaster did not show additional angles or replays of the docus.

This led to a huge backlash online, mostly aimed at officials.

“The face of a man who knows he just finished the game with an invisible knock,” one fan angrily wrote on social media platform X.

Another added: “Did the ref just make up a trick to get Ireland off the hook??”

Ireland v Argentina row as ‘unseen trick’ saves Andy Farrell’s charge

Clear evidence

However, Planet Rugby has obtained footage of the incident which clearly shows referee Williams handing down the decision.

Williams was also in the perfect position to make the call, as broadcast images suggested he had a blocked view, which was not the case.

Paul Williams got the last call #IREvARG in place

Obviously a knock. I wish the broadcast would have shown it on Friday. pic.twitter.com/C7Ic2sscjB

— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) November 18, 2024

In the end, the New Zealander made the right decision in the closing moments of the match as Andy Farrell’s side secured an emphatic victory.

Ireland conceded a staggering 13 penalties, more than double the number of their opponents (6), while the attack also stuttered, conceding 13 turnovers. Farrell’s men were also unable to muster a single point in the second half, with Argentina able to stifle many of their attacks.

Argentina capped off a largely successful 2024 with a clash against France this weekend, while Ireland still have two games at the Aviva Stadium, the first against Fiji, before reuniting with their former head coach Joe Schmidt in a clash against Australia.