History of rugby union matches between Argentina and Ireland

Captains W. J. Hewitt of Ireland and Miguel Ángel Sarandón of Argentina appear on the cover of El Gráfico prior to their 1952 matchup

The history of rugby union matches between Argentina and Ireland is one of a very even contest and significant mutual rivalry, a rivalry increased by a series of notable meetings at the Rugby World Cup.

As of November 2024 ^[update] , in the twenty matches since 1990 which are counted as full internationals by both sides, Argentina have won six times and Ireland fourteen times. The five matches played between 1952 and 1973 are not regarded as full internationals by Ireland, but are by Argentina. In these matches each side has two wins, with one match drawn. At the end of the 2010 Autumn Internationals there was only a nineteen-point difference in cumulative points scored. The largest winning margin of 23 points for Argentina was recorded in the meeting of their 2015 Rugby World Cup quarter-final, when Argentina won by 43 points to 20. Ireland's largest winning margin is 46 points, which occurred in November 2021.

Argentina have yet to beat Ireland on Irish soil, and Ireland have only won twice in Argentina. Ireland's first win against Argentina was in 1952, however it was only a capped match for Argentina. ^[1] Ireland's first fully test capped away win in Argentina came in 2014. Since 2012 matches between the two teams, with the exception of World Cup matches, have been held for the Admiral Brown Cup. ^[2] As of November 2024 Ireland have won the cup on six occasions and Argentina have yet to win.

Summary

Note: Summary below reflects test results by both teams.

Overall

Details	Played	Won by Argentina	Won by Ireland	Drawn	Argentina points	Ireland points
In Argentina	5	3	2	0	106	95
In Ireland	11	0	11	0	166	312
Neutral venue	4	3	1	0	116	75
Overall	20	6	14	0	388	482

Records Note: Date shown in brackets indicates when the record was or last set. Record Argentina Ireland Longest winning streak 3 (26 May 2007 – 22 November 2008) 5 (22 November 2008 – 18 October 2015) Largest points for Home 34 (3 June 2000) 53 (21 November 2021) Away 43 (18 October 2015) 29 (7 June 2014) Neutral 43 (18 October 2015) 16 (26 October 2003) Largest winning margin Home 16 (2 June 2007) 46 (21 November 2021) Away — 12 (7 June 2014) Neutral 23 (18 October 2015) 1 (26 October 2023)

Attendance Up to date as of 16 November 2024. Total attendance* 732,283 Average attendance* 40,682 Highest attendance 72,316 Ireland 20–43 Argentina 18 October 2015 *Excludes two matches in which no attendance was reported

Results

No.	Date	Venue	Score	Winner	Competition	Attendance	Ref.
1	27 October 1990	Lansdowne Road, Dublin	20–18	Ireland	1990 Argentina tour of Great Britain and Ireland	—	[3]
2	28 August 1999	Lansdowne Road, Dublin	32–24	Ireland	1999 Rugby World Cup warm-up match	15,000	[4]
3	20 October 1999	Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens (France)	28–24	Argentina	1999 Rugby World Cup	22,000	[5] [6]
4	3 June 2000	Estadio Arquitecto Ricardo Etcheverri, Buenos Aires	34–23	Argentina	2000 Ireland tour of North and South America	25,000	[7] [8]
5	23 November 2002	Lansdowne Road, Dublin	16–7	Ireland	2002 Autumn International	40,000	[9] [10]
6	26 October 2003	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (Australia)	16–15	Ireland	2003 Rugby World Cup	30,203	[11] [12]
7	27 November 2004	Lansdowne Road, Dublin	21–19	Ireland	2004 Autumn International	49,250	[13] [14]
8	26 May 2007	Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao López, Santa Fe	22–20	Argentina	2007 Ireland tour of Argentina	26,000	[15] [16]
9	2 June 2007	Estadio José Amalfitani, Buenos Aires	16–0	Argentina		44,000	[17] [18]
10	30 September 2007	Parc des Princes, Paris (France)	30–15	Argentina	2007 Rugby World Cup	45,450	[19] [20]
11	22 November 2008	Croke Park, Dublin	17–3	Ireland	2008 Autumn International	68,352	[21]
12	28 November 2010	Aviva Stadium, Dublin	29–9	Ireland	2010 Autumn International	30,406	[22] [23]
13	24 November 2012	Aviva Stadium, Dublin	46–24	Ireland	2012 Autumn International	43,406	[24]
14	7 June 2014	Estadio Centenario, Resistencia	17–29	Ireland	2014 Ireland tour of Argentina	21,000	[25] [26]
15	14 June 2014	Estadio Monumental José Fierro, Tucumán	17–23	Ireland		—	[27]
16	18 October 2015	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (Wales)	20–43	Argentina	2015 Rugby World Cup	72,316	[28] [29]
17	25 November 2017	Aviva Stadium, Dublin	28–19	Ireland	2017 Autumn International	51,000	[30] [31]
18	10 November 2018	Aviva Stadium, Dublin	28–17	Ireland	2018 Autumn International	51,700	[32] [33]
19	21 November 2021	Aviva Stadium, Dublin	53–7	Ireland	2021 Autumn International	45,500	[34] [35]
20	15 November 2024	Aviva Stadium, Dublin	22–19	Ireland	2024 Autumn International	51,700	[36]

XV results

Below is a list of matches that Argentina has awarded matches test match status by virtue of awarding caps, but Ireland did not award caps.

Ireland team before their 1970 match with Argentina

No.	Date	Venue	Score	Winner	Competition	Ref.
I	24 August 1952	Estadio G.E.B.A., Buenos Aires	3–3	draw	1952 Ireland XV tour of Argentina and Chile	[37]
II	31 August 1952	Estadio G.E.B.A., Buenos Aires	0–6	Ireland XV		[38]
III	13 September 1970	Estadio Ricardo Etcheverry, Buenos Aires	8–3	Argentina	1970 Ireland XV tour of Argentina	[39]
IV	20 September 1970	Estadio Arquitecto Ricardo Etcheverri, Buenos Aires	6–3	Argentina		[40]
V	10 November 1973	Lansdowne Road, Dublin	21–8	Ireland XV	1973 Argentina tour of Ireland and Scotland	[41]

List of series

Played	Won by Argentina	Won by Ireland	Drawn
2	1	1	0

Year	Argentina	Ireland	Series winner	Admiral Brown Cup
2007	2	0	Argentina	Not contested
2014	0	2	Ireland

References

1. Pick and Go rugby Test match database (select Los Pumas and Ireland)
2. Irlanda v Argentina: La Copa Almirante Brown at the IRFU, 21 Nov 2012
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32. "Ireland 28-17 Argentina". Ireland’s 2018 Autumn Internationals Confirmed. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
33. Neville, Conor (10 November 2018). "Recap: Ireland 28-17 Argentina". RTE. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
34. "Ireland - Argentina". SofaScore. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
35. Treacy, Neil (21 November 2021). "Ireland cap off brilliant month with easy Pumas win". RTE. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
36. "Ireland 22-19 Argentina". Autumn Internationals. 15 November 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
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38. "Ireland XV tour in Argentina 1952 1952". espnscrum. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
39. "Ireland XV tour in Argentina 1970 1970". espnscrum. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
40. "Ireland XV tour in Argentina 1970 1970". espnscrum. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
41. "ARGENTINA TOUR - Lansdowne Road, 10 November 1973". espnscrum. Retrieved 13 July 2022.