Ireland out of World Cup

Argentina dumped Ireland out of the World Cup with a 30-15 victory and sent host nation France into a quarter-final showdown with tournament favourites New Zealand next Saturday.

The Pumas will face Scotland in Paris on Monday week, but Ireland now follow Six Nations colleagues Wales and Italy in making an early exit.

Ireland went into the group eliminator needing a bonus point victory, but although Brian O'Driscoll and Geordan Murphy scored tries, they finished a distant second-best.

Unbeaten Argentina never looked like losing, with wings Lucas Borges and Horacio Agulla claiming touchdowns, while fly-half Juan Martin Hernandez dropped three goals and centre Felipe Contepomi kicked 11 points.

Contepomi punished Ireland by booting two penalties in four minutes, extending the Pumas' advantage to a confident 27-15.

There was no way back for Ireland, and even their sizeable army of supporters knew it.