The grizzled old boys descended upon Killarney’s to watch the open match of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, and we treated to a gutsy performance by Argentina. It took a while to get started because the opening ceremony was far too long and typically French. Once this excruciatingly poor and foul parody of Cirque de Soleil was over, the teams took the pitch.
The south end of the pitch was in soft condition at the beginning of the match because during the Argentinian National anthem the Pumas openly wept leaving puddles at their feet. However, it would soon be the Frenchmen weeping as Argentina played with passion, flair, and elan while dominating territory and possession in the first half, 17-9.
The second half was the inverse of the first, with the Frenchmen dominating possession and territory, but the Pumas stood tall with an exceptional withering 15 phase defensive stand in the shadow of their own goal. Their tackling was simply magnificent. As the French frustration grew so did their errors, and at the end of the day when all was said and done, Argentina 17- France 12.