Jamie Heaslip was delighted with Ireland's victory over Argentina, although he admits the performance was far from perfect.
Back-row forward delighted to beat Argentina
Jamie Heaslip was delighted with Ireland's victory over Argentina, although he admits that their performance was far from perfect.
The Leinster No 8 was named man of the match as Ireland rounded off their autumn campaign with a 29-9 win at Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
In freezing conditions, the Pumas put in a disappointing performance and were easily beaten in a drab one-sided contest.
And even though Ireland slackened off slightly after taking a 19-3 lead into half-time, Heaslip says that coming away with the right result was the most important thing.
"I'm delighted we beat Argentina. I always say I play to win and that's what happened," he said.
Loose
"Granted, we probably wanted a little bit more ball in the second half and it did get a little bit loose at times.
"But when we had the opportunity we tightened it down when it got loose.
"Probably one or two decisions we made as a team regarding how to manage the game was off, but we'll learn from that. As a whole the lads were very happy with the win."
Ireland end November with two wins from four matches, beating the Pumas and Samoa but losing to Tri-Nations powers South Africa and New Zealand.
Even though their only defeats came against the world champions and top-ranked side in the world respectively, Heaslip is still unhappy with the success rate.
Heaslip added: "We have only won two games so we are not too happy with that. We have to look back and see where we can improve upon it."
Positive
Winger Tommy Bowe believes the ability amongst the backs was there for all to see, and hopes the team's open style of play will continue.
"We can hold our heads up," said Bowe, who started all four games. "To finish with our highest winning margin against Argentina in the last game of the year is a great positive for us going through to the Six Nations.
"Whenever we've had dry ball, we've shown that we're able to throw it about. That's the type of rugby that we want to play.
"We have plenty of players who are willing to play good rugby. When we get the chance, we're able to cut teams open and we'll be looking to do more of that."
