Argentina overcame the disappointment of losing to defending champions South Africa on match day one by winning a thrilling match 26-22 against Ireland in Cournon d'Auvergne that was decided in the final seconds.
After a balanced start to the match characterized best by Argentina's strong pack performance and Ireland's pacy backs, it was Ireland who took the lead. After a strong scrum, centre McFadden took the ball on a good angle to score under the posts and after seven minutes the men in green led 7-0.
Hallet landed a further penalty for a 10-0 lead, but the Pumas captain Albarracin pulled a try back after strong work from the Argentine pack and Argentina then took advantage of a yellow card to Ireland's Pollock to score in the corner through hooker Cortese.
Ireland's reaction, however, was immediate and just before the break full back Carr scored under the posts for a 17-12 Ireland lead.
The second half was even more keenly contested by both sides, but Argentina managed to break the deadlock first through flanker Creevy and then took the lead through Albarracin only to provoke another fierce Irish onslaught. Carr broke through to score again but with seconds remaining Argentina's pack managed one last final effort to steal the win and the bonus point.
Quotes
Francisco Albarracin, Argentina captain: This match was really tough. They played extremely well in the first half despite the heat but our pack dominated and our aim was to get 11 points. We still think we can qualify.
Eduardo Viazzo, Argentina coach: Just as we were expecting it was a very tight match. The Irish never give an inch. Retaining position was the key to the match and with that we managed to open play up. Our scrum is very strong as we work very hard on that but now we want to win the last match to qualify.
Mark McDermott, Irish coach: We're gutted because the match was there for the taking but we lost the ball too much in contact. They won more turn-over ball and if you don't use your own ball well you won't win at this level.