Ireland put six tries past Argentina as Conor Murray hails squad depth

Ireland beat Argentina 42-12 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, scoring six tries in their opening match of the autumn Nations Championship series. The November internationals, when the leading northern hemisphere teams play the southern hemisphere's best, are the first big test of the season for every side involved.

Six tries is a lot of points for a single afternoon. A try is worth five points and is scored by grounding the ball over the opposition's try line, so Ireland's haul shows how often they got the ball into space and kept the pressure on. Argentina, who are strong in the physical contests at the set piece, scored 12 points in reply.

Former Ireland scrum-half Conor Murray spoke about the win on the Ireland Rugby Social podcast on BBC Sounds, hosted by BBC Sport NI's Gavin Andrews. Ireland player Joe McCarthy also took part in the conversation. Murray pointed to the team's strength in reserve. "The depth we have now is really impressive," he said.

He also looked back to a difficult spell. Over a year ago, injuries left Ireland short of players and raised questions about their depth. Head coach Andy Farrell had to hand out chances to younger players quickly. Murray said those players are now pushing the established names across the squad. "Irish rugby is going from strength to strength," he added.

Looking ahead, Murray expects Ireland to beat Fiji in their next match. He said the players coming into the side for that game will want to impress Farrell and his coaches, because places for the clash with South Africa are up for grabs. That kind of competition, he suggested, is good for the group as a whole.

It is a useful reminder of how a squad works. Test rugby is played over long weeks, and players pick up knocks along the way. Having fresh players ready to step in helps teams keep their level when others need a rest or are sidelined. Murray's point was that Ireland now have more players who can do that job.

Argentina's result will be a talking point too. They lost by 30 points, but the autumn series is about building form and finding out who is ready for the bigger games ahead. For both teams, the next matches will show whether Saturday's scoreboard was a sign of depth or a one-off.