Ireland built on the momentum of an early try to beat Argentina 42-20 at Vichy's Stade Louis-Darragon and proceed to the play-off to decide fifth and sixth place on Sunday.
From the outset the Irish were aggressive in defence and self-assured going forward and straight from the kick-off scored a try, centre McFadden surprising the Argentinians in midfield to break through and score. Hallet slotted the conversion for an early 7-0 lead and after almost 15 minutes added another three points after an Argentinian off-side.
Francisco Albarracin's men upped their intensity, Meyrelles working hard in the tight, Cortese and Creevy in the loose but each attack found the solid green wall too tough to break. Despite their territorial advantage, the Pumas went further behind when Hallet kicked another penalty after a rare Irish attack but Fernandez pulled one back to make Ireland's half time lead 13-3.
From the restart Argentina looked to further up their intensity and were quickly rewarded when Macome scored to bring the score back to 13-8 but Ireland responded quickly through Cronin's try and when Hallet added a penalty they led 23-8.
Puma captain Albarracin pulled one back but again the Irish responded, this time through Laffan. Argentina mounted one final assault and did score the try of the match through Sarasqueta to come back to within eight points at 28-20 but Hallet sliced through tired bodies like a knife through butter to deliver the telling blow and the Puma resistance finally snapped. Philpott scored one final try for the Irish as the whistle sounded.
Quotes
Marcelo Ambroggio, ARgentina manager: We'd like to have played better. Not making the semis was a big blow for the players and today I think we saw that. They didn't commit fully in defence. But when all is said and done, this World Championship has been excellent for us.
Francisco Albarracin, Pumas captain: We'd already played Ireland and won and we thought we'd repeat that today. But in the first half we had lots of ball but didn't score, unlike them. We'll fight now to finish in seventh place.
Mark McDermott, Ireland coach: We lost to them by four points last time and today we beat them by 22 so it's a good performance. Now we can go for fifth and the team has progressed there. They knew where to take on Argentina, and that was up front.
David Pollock, Ireland captain: I'm really pleased with this match, delighted. The forwards played a massive game, as did the backs. Congratulations to all the lads.