The news is in that Jonny Sexton has been ruled out of Ireland’s quarter-final against Argentina tonight at 11:00pm AEDT. Ian Madigan takes his place at no. 10 while Paddy Jackson moves on to the subs’ bench.
It’s quite a blow for Ireland, though not unexpected. Sexton was injured in the game against France last week and it was touch and go if he would be fit in time. He had been given the all-clear, but it looks like it was premature. It’s unknown how long he will be out for.
It was doubtful that Sexton would have lasted the full quarter-final. Now, Ian Madigan will start at out-half.
Madigan put in a supreme display against the French when he came on for the injured Sexton. It was the kind of display that makes a player, cements his reputation. That was when emotion was high, though, and he didn’t have time to worry about the implications.
Now, he is pushed into the lion’s den in what is possibly Ireland’s most important ever rugby match. He’ll have time to feel all the pressure and the weight of expectation. Freddie Michalak, the French out-half, suffered a similar problem in the 2003 tournament, and he fell apart. He’s only now reclaiming that form. It will be make or break time for Madigan.
Sexton wasn’t the only injury to come out of the French match, unfortunately. Paul O’Connell and Peter O’Mahony have also been ruled out of the quarter-final, and the rest of the tournament.
O’Connell will be replaced by Ian Henderson, who has played brilliantly all tournament. Jordi Murphy comes in for O’Mahony in the back-row.
It was an emotional sight as Paul O’Connell was stretchered off the field. The great man has now played his last game for Ireland, after announcing that he would retire from international rugby at the end of the tournament, though he has signed a contract with French club Toulon. Though injured, O’Connell will stay with the Irish camp.
O’Mahony has become a leader for Ireland as well. His presence will be equally as missed.
The other change to the team was forced after Sean O’Brien was cited for punching French player, Pascal Pape. It was a crazy move by O’Brien, who was quite lucky not to receive a lengthier ban.
Unfortunately, he will miss the quarter-final and his place has been taken by Chris Henry.
Both Henry and Murphy are very good players but they can’t fully cover O’Brien and O’Mahony. Ireland will be severely depleted in the back row.
Otherwise, the team is unchanged. Jamie Heaslip will captain the side, which is a huge test for him. It will be his most important game as captain.
Ireland have faced Argentina three times in the World Cup, three tournaments in a row. In 1999, Ireland lost a quarter-final play-off against the ‘Pumas’ in a shocking loss, it was one of the bigger upsets in the tournament’s history. The two countries faced each other again, in the 2003 tournament, and Ireland won a very close game by a single point.
In 2007, a poor Irish side were knocked out of the tournament by Argentina at the pools stage. Argentina would go on to place third in that year’s competition, cementing their place in rugby. In 2012, Argentina finally gained entry into the Tri-Nations – now called the Rugby Championship.
Argentina now play the three strongest rugby teams in the world – Australia, New Zealand and South Africa – every year, twice or three times, which can only make them better. Granted, out of the 21 games that Argentina has played in the Rugby Championship, they’ve only won two, with one game drawn.
Ireland have played Argentina 20 times, with the Irish winning twelve of those games, and Argentina seven. Ireland have also won the last five games in a row, including a two-match tour of Argentina. That was when both teams were depleted.
Ireland have a realistic chance against the ‘Pumas’, though the missing players are a huge disadvantage.
This is Ireland’s chance at reaching their first ever semi-final. A lot depends on Ian Madigan. It’s very difficult for a team to play well if their out-half is not up to the challenge. I think he will be, and Ireland will face Australia in the semi-finals!
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