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A late try by Tommy Bowe gave Ireland a 17-3 victory against Argentina in an otherwise lacklustre Test match at Croke Park.

The win by Declan Kidney's side came as a relief after last week's 22-3 thrashing by the All Blacks and leaves Ireland still seeded eighth in the rankings ahead of next month's draw for the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.

The Pumas faced a setback before Saturday's match began with World Cup flyhalf Juan Martin Hernandez pulling out and forced to watch the game from the stands after suffering a groin injury during a warmup, with Santiago Fernandez making his debut.

Bowe made the most of a crossfield kick from Ronan O'Gara to steam past the Argentine defence out on the right wing and score the only try of the match.

O'Gara botched the conversion but had already been successful with a drop kick and three penalties. In the breezy conditions he also missed with some kicks.

Fernandez, unexpectedly winning his first cap in the first meeting between the two sides since the Pumas beat Ireland at the World Cup in France 13 months ago, put Argentina briefly ahead with a penalty. He also missed with two penalties.

Argentina lost 12-6 to France and beat Italy 22-14 in their previous Tests this month, while Ireland had opened their November series with a 55-0 thrashing of Canada.

Both sides failed to gain momentum during the game with little strategic direction evident.

"We are not singing and dancing about today's performance, but we are delighted with the result," Kidney said. "It was a real cup final, chess type match which isn't the most attractive."

Pumas prop Rodrigo Roncero was sent to the sin bin after a tussle in the closing minutes.

"It did get ugly maybe for the last 10 minutes," O'Gara said. "Both sides maybe lost their discipline.

"It was far from perfect, but we have beaten a dogged Argentine team and we needed to make a statement and hopefully today was a turning point," said O'Gara, who was named man of the match.

Kidney added: "I think you have to give credit to the way Argentina defended and the way they closed down spaces - not just against us but against other sides."

Munster forward Jerry Flannery was taken off in the 14th minute after sustaining a knee injury.

Kidney said forward David Wallace was taken to hospital as a precaution. Wallace was carried off the pitch in the second half after being hit in the face unintentionally by Argentine captain Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe as both went for a high ball.

Looking ahead to next year's Six Nations tournament, Kidney said: "I think the speed of the game is something that we would be looking to ramp up a little bit. We will work on our shape."

Reuters