ONE SUSPECTS the powers that be in Lansdowne Road would have preferred a more meaningful prize but Ireland A will have to content themselves with the Churchill Cup Plate following an often fractious clash with Argentina on Saturday.
After a couple of toothless displays earlier in the competition, the Irish second-string finally showed some grit against an admittedly poor Argentina selection to comfortably claim third place.
Allen Clarke's side quickly got their noses in front with a thirdminute Jonathan Sexton penalty.
And with a woefully inept Argentina lineout coughing up a constant stream of possession, Ireland soon had their first try as Denis Fogarty bundled over following an eight-man shove.
Sexton missed the conversion but added a fine drop goal before Darren Cave, who impressed alongside Keith Earls in midfield, was on hand to apply the finish following some good close-quarters work from the pack.
Sexton added the extra points for a 21-0 half-time lead.
Content to sit back and absorb the pressure after the break, Ireland were punished when Ignacio Mieres got Argentina on the scoreboard with a close-range penalty.
As the temperatures rose, the play was fractured with a series of flare-ups and Harlequins prop Mike Ross and Juan Pablo Lagarrigue were sinbinned late on following a mass brawl.
By that stage Ireland were in the clear, a converted Sexton try and an Ian Keatley score deep into injury-time keeping the scoreboard ticking over.
IRELAND A: D Hurley (Munster); M McCrea (Ulster), D Cave (Ulster), K Earls (Munster), B Tuohy (Cornish Pirates); J Sexton (Leinster), F Murphy (Connacht); C Healy (Leinster), D Fogarty (Munster), M Ross (Harlequins); B Casey (capt, London Irish), D Ryan (Munster); N Best (Northampton), J O'Connor (Connacht), R Wilson (Northampton) . Replacements: T Hogan (Leinster) for Casey (58 mins), D Pollock (Ulster) for Wilson (68 mins), S Cronin (Connacht) for Fogarty (71 mins), I Keatley (Connacht) for Sexton (74 mins), F McFadden (Leinster) for McCrea (78 mins), T Court (Ulster) for O'Connor, P Marshall (Ulster) for Murphy (both 80 mins). Sinbinned: Ross (78 mins).
ARGENTINA: Barrera Oro; Camacho, Gauthier, Amelong, Merello; Mieres, Albarracin; Rodriguez Planells Oviedo, Maria, Orlandi; Lagarrigue, Aranguren; Creevy, Fessia, Abadie. Replacements: Urdapilleta for Merello (41 mins); Genoud for Creevy (56 mins); Ascarate for Mieres (68 mins); Bettoli for Orlandi (72 mins); Senatore for Amelong (78 mins); Lopez Fleming for Ascarate (75 mins); Gomez Kodela for Rodriguez Planells Oviedo (79 mins). Sinbinned: Lagarrigue (78 mins).
