Sanchez steers Pumas past Ireland into WCup semis

Argentina’s Juan Imhoff scores a try in the IRB Rugby World Cup quarter final match against Ireland yesterday in Cardiff, Wales - Reuters 

AFP: Nicolas Sanchez steered Argentina into the World Cup semi-finals with a thrilling 43-20 victory over injury-depleted Ireland on Sunday.

Los Pumas will meet the winners of the fourth and final quarter-final clash between Australia and Scotland.

Defending champions New Zealand will play South Africa in the other last-four clash. Ireland, missing talismanic lock and skipper Paul O’Connell, fly-half Johnny Sexton, flanker Peter O’Mahony and centre Jared Payne through injury and suspended star flanker Sean O’Brien, struggled to match Argentina’s opening hi-tempo start.

The Pumas scorched out to a 17-0 lead thanks to tries from Matias Moroni and Juan Imhoff with Sanchez kicking the rest of the points before Ireland came back through a Luke Fitzgerald try, Ian Madigan kicking the conversion and a penalty.

Jordi Murphy’s try early in the second-half and Madigan’s boot kept Ireland in the game until Joaquin Tuculet and Imhoff crossed in the final minutes of a scintillating game, masterminded by Sanchez, who finished with a personal tally of 23 points from five penalties and four conversions.

The victory broke Argentina’s five-match losing streak against Ireland, their last win coming in the pool stages of the 2007 World Cup.

Tuculet and Imhoff sealed Ireland’s fate when they crashed over for two devastating tries in the last 12 minutes, Sanchez twice more converting and having the last laugh with a final penalty to deny Ireland a first-ever place in the semi-finals after a gripping game.