Lansdowne battle moves off pitch and ends in war of words

Ireland 21 Argentina 19

But the Irish hero was Ronan O’Gara, who dropped a goal 67 seconds from the end of a fractious encounter, even if his exploits hardly merited a mention as the verbal spat got louder and louder in an hour of mayhem after the game.

Argentine captain Agustin Pichot accused Ireland of unsporting conduct, the International Rugby Board of neglect; Irish coach Eddie O’Sullivan responded by accusing the South American players of eye gouging - to such an extent that it merited asking the match commissioner to investigate.