Captains W. J. Hewitt of Ireland and Miguel Ángel Sarandón of Argentina appear on the cover of El Gráfico prior to their 1952 matchup
Captains W. J. Hewitt of Ireland and Miguel Ángel Sarandón of Argentina appear on the cover of El Gráfico prior to their 1952 matchup

The history of rugby union matches between Argentina and Ireland is one of a very even contest and significant mutual rivalry, a rivalry increased by a series of notable meetings at the Rugby World Cup.

As of November 2019, the sides have met twenty four times with a result of fifteen wins to Ireland, eight to Argentina and one drawn game; however, five of these matches were not a fully test capped match for Ireland. At the end of the 2010 Autumn Internationals there was only a nineteen-point difference in cumulative points scored. The largest winning margin of 23 points for Argentina was recorded in the meeting of their 2015 Rugby World Cup quarter-final, when Argentina won by 43 points to 20. Ireland's largest winning margin is 46 points, which occurred in November 2021.

Argentina have yet to beat Ireland on Irish soil, and Ireland have only won twice in Argentina. Ireland's first win against Argentina was in 1952, however it was only a capped match for Argentina.[1] Ireland's first fully test capped away win in Argentina came in 2014. Since 2012 matches between the two teams have been held for the Admiral Brown Cup.[2] Argentina first won the Cup in 2015; since 2018 it has been held by Ireland.

In the nineteen matches since 1990 which are counted as full internationals by both sides, Argentina have won six times and Ireland thirteen times. The five matches played between 1952 and 1973 are not regarded as full internationals by Ireland, but are by Argentina; in these matches each side has two wins, with one match drawn.

Summary

Note: Summary below reflects test results by both teams.

Overall

Details Played Won by
Argentina 		Won by
Ireland 		Drawn Argentina
points 		Ireland
points
In Argentina 5 3 2 0 106 95
In Ireland 10 0 10 0 147 290
Neutral venue 4 3 1 0 116 75
Overall 19 6 13 0 369 460

Results

Note: non-Argentine/Irish stadiums are listed in brackets:

No. Date Venue City Score Winner Competition Attend. Ref.
1 27 October 1990 Lansdowne Road Dublin 20–18  Ireland 1990 Argentine tour [3]
2 28 August 1999 Lansdowne Road Dublin 32–24  Ireland 1999 World Cup warm-up 15,000 [4]
3 20 October 1999 Félix Bollaert Lens 28–24  Argentina 1999 Rugby World Cup 22,000 [5][6]
4 3 June 2000 Ferro Carril Oeste Buenos Aires 34–23  Argentina 2000 Ireland tour 25,000 [7][8]
5 23 November 2002 Lansdowne Road Dublin 16–7  Ireland 2002 Autumn Internationals 40,000 [9][10]
6 26 October 2003 Adelaide Oval Adelaide (Australia) 16–15  Ireland 2003 Rugby World Cup 30,203 [11][12]
7 27 November 2004 Lansdowne Road Dublin 21–19  Ireland 2004 Autumn Internationals 49,250 [13][14]
8 26 May 2007 Estadio Colón Santa Fe 22–20  Argentina 2007 June rugby union tests 26,000 [15][16]
9 2 June 2007 José Amalfitani Buenos Aires 16–0  Argentina 44,000 [17][18]
10 30 September 2007 Parc des Princes Paris (France) 30–15  Argentina 2007 Rugby World Cup 45,450 [19][20]
11 22 November 2008 Croke Park Dublin 17–3  Ireland 2008 Autumn Internationals 68,352 [21]
12 28 November 2010 Aviva Stadium Dublin 29–9  Ireland 2010 Autumn Internationals 30,406 [22][23]
13 24 November 2012 Aviva Stadium Dublin 46–24  Ireland 2012 Autumn Internationals 43,406 [24]
14 7 June 2014 Estadio Centenario Resistencia 17–29  Ireland 2014 Ireland tour 21,000 [25][26]
15 14 June 2014 Atlético Tucumán Tucumán 17–23  Ireland [27]
16 18 October 2015 Millennium Stadium Cardiff (Wales) 20–43  Argentina 2015 World Cup quarter-final 72,316 [28][29]
17 25 November 2017 Aviva Stadium Dublin 28–19  Ireland 2017 Autumn Internationals 51,000 [30][31]
18 10 November 2018 Aviva Stadium Dublin 28–17  Ireland 2018 Autumn Internationals 51,700 [32][33]
19 21 November 2021 Aviva Stadium Dublin 53–7  Ireland 2021 Autumn Internationals 45,500 [34][35]

Non-test results

Below is a list of matches that Argentina has awarded matches test match status by virtue of awarding caps, but Ireland did not award caps.

Ireland team before their 1970 match with Argentina
Ireland team before their 1970 match with Argentina
Date Venue City Score Winner Ref.
24 August 1952 GEBA Buenos Aires
3–3
 draw [36]
31 August 1952 GEBA Buenos Aires
0–6
  Ireland [37]
13 September 1970 Ferro Carril Oeste Buenos Aires
8–3
  Argentina [38]
20 September 1970 Ferro Carril Oeste Buenos Aires
6–3
  Argentina [39]
10 November 1973 Lansdowne Road Dublin
21–8
  Ireland [40]

List of series

Played Won by
Argentina 		Won by
Ireland 		Drawn
2 1 1 0
Year Argentina Ireland Series winner Admiral Brown Cup
Argentina 2007 2 0  Argentina N/A
Argentina 2014 0 2  Ireland  Ireland

References

  1. ^ Pick and Go rugby Test match database (select Los Pumas and Ireland)
  2. ^ Irlanda v Argentina: La Copa Almirante Brown at the IRFU, 21 Nov 2012
  3. ^ "Argentina tour in England/Ireland/Scotland 1990". espnscrum. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  4. ^ "ARGENTINA TOUR - Lansdowne Road, 28 August 1999". espnscrum. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Pumas upset the odds against Ireland". espnscrum. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  6. ^ "World Cup golden moments". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  7. ^ "IRELAND TOUR - Buenos Aires, 3 June 2000". espnscrum. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  8. ^ "RUGBY UNION: Argentina 34 Ireland 23 IRELAND WILT AS PUMAS POWER IN; Late burst proves too much". the free library. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  9. ^ "ARGENTINA TOUR - Lansdowne Road, 23 November 2002, 16:30 local, 16:30 GMT". espnscrum. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  10. ^ "Ireland claw victory over Pumas". BBC SPort. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Ireland sneak home". espnscrum. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  12. ^ "Ireland edge out Pumas". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  13. ^ "O'Gara's boot tames Pumas". Irish Rugby. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  14. ^ "Ireland 21-19 Argentina". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  15. ^ "Ireland tour in Argentina/Scotland 2007 2007". espnscrum. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  16. ^ "Argentina 22-20 Ireland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  17. ^ "Ireland tour in Argentina/Scotland 2007 2007". espnscrum. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  18. ^ "Argentina 16-0 Ireland". RTE. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Rugby World Cup 2007". espnscrum. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  20. ^ "Argentina 30-15 Ireland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  21. ^ "Ireland 17-3 Argentina". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  22. ^ "Argentina tour in France/Ireland/Italy 2010 2010". espnscrum. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  23. ^ "Ireland 29-9 Argentina". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  24. ^ "Ireland 46-24 Argentina". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  25. ^ "Sexton injury mars Ireland win". espnscrum. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  26. ^ "First Test: Argentina 17-29 Ireland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  27. ^ "Second Test: Argentina 17-23 Ireland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  28. ^ "Rugby World Cup 2015". espnscrum. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  29. ^ "Rugby World Cup 2015: Ireland 20-43 Argentina". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  30. ^ "Ireland battle to victory over Argentina and seal third autumn Test win". espnscrum. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  31. ^ "Autumn international: Ireland 28-19 Argentina". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  32. ^ "Ireland 28-17 Argentina". Ireland’s 2018 Autumn Internationals Confirmed. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  33. ^ "Recap: Ireland 28-17 Argentina". RTE. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  34. ^ "Ireland - Argentina". SofaScore. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  35. ^ "Ireland cap off brilliant month with easy Pumas win". RTE. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  36. ^ "IRELAND XV TOUR - Buenos Aires, 24 August 1952". espnscrum. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  37. ^ "Ireland XV tour in Argentina 1952 1952". espnscrum. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  38. ^ "Ireland XV tour in Argentina 1970 1970". espnscrum. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  39. ^ "Ireland XV tour in Argentina 1970 1970". espnscrum. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  40. ^ "ARGENTINA TOUR - Lansdowne Road, 10 November 1973". espnscrum. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
Categories