Six Rugby World Cup quarterfinals, six defeats. Ireland fell short yet again on Sunday, swept away 43-20 by fleet-footed Argentina.
"I thought it was going to be a big battle and it was," Ireland No. 8 and captain Jamie Heaslip said. "The way they loom for mismatches makes it difficult. They are also very abrasive around the ruck. You have to get the collective together, which we did, and at 23-20 it could have been a very different game.
But when you're chasing the game against a side like that who are so well organized, have athletes throughout the squad especially out wide who can punish you for the slightest mistake, it's always going to be quite hard."
lock Devin Toner said they knew what to expect, and still couldn't handle the Argentines. "We said during the week how they're one of the most dangerous sides out there," Toner said." They've got such fast backs, they're just quality all over the pitch, so we can't afford those first 20 minutes."
But the result was not all that surprising, even though Ireland started as slight favorite. The Pumas also knocked out the Irish in 1999 and 2007.
Ireland won its pool last weekend at considerable expense, with injuries to key men: Flyhalf Jonny Sexton, captain and lock Paul O'Connell, flanker Peter O'Mahony, and a suspension to flanker Sean O'Brien.
losing those large personalities didn't help, plus Argentina no easybeat. The Pumas beat South Africa for the first time in August, in Durban, too. After pushing the All Blacks close in their tournament opener, they were impressive in running over Georgia, Tonga and Namibia.
Their four-year involvement in the Rugby Championship showed against Ireland. The Pumas had more speed, greater athleticism, and they were more clinical.
What really stood out was the superb invention of Argentina's backs, their criss-crossing, angled runs and the way they always managed to stretch the Irish defense.
Next up for Argentina is Australia, which needed a last-gasp penalty to beat Scotland at Twickenham 35-34.