Ireland coach Declan Kidney was in ‘dreamland’ after his team secured a second seed ranking for the World Cup with an emphatic 46-24 win over Argentina.

Debutant Craig Gilroy scored a try as the Irish team guaranteed a second tier spot for the 2015 World Cup draw to be held in London next week.

Jonathan Sexton and Tommy Bowe scored two tries each as Ireland finally ended a five game losing sequence in Test rugby.

Afterwards Kidney admitted: “You never in your wildest dreams think you’ll score that number of tries against Argentina.

“If things click then this team is well capable of doing that. Today was one of the good days. We didn’t get too despondent after the defeat by South Africa two weeks ago and we won’t be too disappointed following today.

“This result makes it a whole lot easier to go to training the next time we meet. If I say it was the complete performance I’ll be out of a job! There’s always things to be done.”

Kidney praised Gilroy and the youngsters who have added new impetus to his Irish team this season.

The coach added: “I’ve been saying for the last two weeks they’ve been a pleasure to work with.

“The enthusiasm of the young lads who’ve come in - not just Craig but some of the others who didn’t play - has been infectious.

“We talked about having a go at it and that paid off. We picked off a few good tries and that confidence flowed through the team.”

Captain Jamie Heaslip kept his feet on the ground after Ireland’s win.
Heaslip said: “The scoreline flattered us. Sometimes things just click and you get the lucky bounce as well.

“I’m proud of the effort and professionalism shown by everyone. It was a great shift from this group of players. This year there have been plenty of missed opportunities in Tests, so we’ve been introspective to see what we can change.”