Ireland centre Robbie Henshaw admitted that getting back to winning ways was all that mattered at the Aviva Stadium last night, as his side very nearly let a 22-9 lead slip from their grasp.
Argentina’s gutsy comeback, which saw them keep Ireland scoreless for 48 minutes, ultimately fell just short, as Andy Farrell’s men clung on to a victory that had seemingly looked completely in their control during a dominant, three-try first-half display.
Henshaw, who was left out of the match-day squad for last week’s defeat to New Zealand, fully justified his recall to the midfield ahead of Bundee Aki, as the Athlone native delivered an outstanding performance that was packed full of punch and guile on both sides of the ball.
Despite needing a late Argentinian knock-on, when playing with a man advantage, to see out the win, Henshaw believes the result was the most important thing.
“It’s all about winning for us,” the Leinster player said.
“The old saying is good teams always find a way to win, no matter what’s going on in the game, and I think that was vitally important.
“And especially with the two new caps, with Sam (Prendergast) and Tom (Clarkson), and for Cian Healy as well, equalling the caps record, that was probably more so important that we get a win on their first caps and for Cian with the Test record.”
In the immediate aftermath of the 22-19 victory in Dublin, Henshaw was unable to put his finger on why Ireland had managed to produce two such drastically contrasting performances from the first-half to the second.
“I’ll have to look back on it but a lot of it is in our own control,” Henshaw maintained.
“We give away some penalties in that second half, it gives them access, they get a try and get their heads up.
“Again, how we manage getting out of our own half, we seem to run a little bit when we could have applied a bit more pressure with territory so we’ve loads to work on and we’ll be challenged to get better again from this.
“A win is a win. Tricky game I suppose but it was vitally important we got a win this week especially considering how last week went.
“It wasn’t perfect. It was a tricky kind of second-half. We felt very good in the first-half. It felt like we were flowing and then I think, through little bits of indiscipline, the penalty count again probably stopped us in our stride and gave Argentina a bit of momentum in the second-half. Look, loads to work on but I suppose a win is a win.
“I think we were putting pressure on them in how we were attacking them in our phase play (in the first-half).
“We had good quick ball and we were playing on the front foot and playing to space as well so a lot of the things that we worked at during the week was coming out in the first-half.
“We scored a couple of nice tries as well as one disallowed in the corner. Yeah, again probably a little bit of metal switch off as well in that second half, gave them a little bit of relief to come back.”
Henshaw was playing just his second game of the season following an injury-hit start to the campaign, and although he looked sharp before being replaced by the lively Jamie Osborne, the 31-year-old believes he still has more to offer, as he works his way back to full match sharpness.
“I felt good in the first-half, it’s always tough coming back into an international game, your first game is always going to be tough,” Henshaw said.
“I felt good in the game but plenty more for me to work on and to get better at.
“I slipped off a few tackles in the first-half in particular so a bit to clean up there and the lungs as well were in for a bit of a shock towards the end of the second-half.
“So building on match fitness is probably a priority for me as well.
“I suppose you need to build up your game time before coming in, it’s always very tough to come in from the cold and play in an international so yeah, that’s been tricky for me with a couple of niggles I had in pre-season but fingers crossed I’ll get a good run over the next few weeks and kick on.”
The Ireland squad was particularly delighted to mark the two new caps, Prendergast and Clarkson, and Healy’s special night with a win, as Henshaw praised the trio.
“It’s always great to see two new caps and especially for Tom called in in the first-half, fair play to him because it’s never easy to come off the bench, especially for your first cap and I thought he did exceptionally well,” Henshaw added.
“And then Sam was brilliant as well when he came on, he looks like he’s been playing international for a few seasons, he’s so composed and calm, it’s hugely positive that we celebrate their achievements and we celebrate Cian’s achievement.
“It’s probably just Sam’s presence on the pitch, he doesn’t seem to get to fazed by any occasion, he deals with pressure very well and he’s building on his game, he’s getting better and better.
“He’s had some great sessions over the last few weeks so he’s definitely a huge talent. Good players always look like they have time on the ball and he definitely has that.”