LONDON:Ireland secured their place in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals on Sunday but were far from convincing in their first real test of the competition, squeezing past Italy 16-9 to move on to a group decider against France.

After trading early penalties, Keith Earls was slickly put through to become Ireland’s record World Cup try scorer, but the Six Nations champions were sloppy throughout the half and Tommaso Allan’s boot kept the tireless Italians within four points at the break.

Spurred on by the returning Sergio Parisse, Italy grew in confidence and an Allan penalty made it 10-9 before Johnny Sexton gave Ireland some breathing space on the hour with two penalties as they hung on with 14 men after a yellow card for Peter O’Mahony.

Ireland and France move on to Cardiff in a week’s time with three wins a piece and the chance to top Pool D, a significant prize given that the victors would probably avoid defending champions New Zealand in the quarter-finals.

Pumas tame Tonga

In Leicester, Diego Maradona’s famous ‘hand of god’ repeatedly punched the air as Argentina moved closer to the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals with a decisive 45-16 win over Tonga.

The portly football icon became chief cheerleader for the Pumas at Leicester’s Walkers Stadium as they again showed why they have become a force to reckon with.

Tries by Joaquin Tuculet, Juan Imhoff, Nicolas Sanchez, Julian Montoya and Santiago Cordero — often with brilliant darting runs — sealed the result to Maradona’s joy.

The football star leaped to his feet with each score, arms flailing and embracing other spectators as the points mounted and Argentina sealed a bonus-point win.

The Pumas are now second in Pool C, four points behind leaders and reigning world champions New Zealand, who have already qualified.

Only an unlikely Tonga four-try win over the All Blacks next weekend can stop Argentina going into the last eight.

England leaves the party early

Meanwhile, the mourning for England’s early departure from their own World Cup had barely got underway on Sunday before the focus switched to inevitable apportioning of blame for a campaign that ended in a limp 33-13 defeat by Australia.

England’s abiding unpopularity in the rest of the rugby world ensured a tsunami of jokes swamped social media and landed in the in-boxes of grieving Englishmen, most playing on the theme of an inability to get out of a pool.

It was in the English media, however, that the knives really came out for those responsible for the debacle of a host nation being knocked out before the completion of the pool matches.

Wales bowed out at a similar stage as one of five co-host nations at the 1991 World Cup but even that lacked the ignominy of the departure of the 2003 champions.

“Maul Over, World Ends,” read the backpage headline in the Sun with “The Great Barrier grief” on the inside pages, while the Sunday Times chose “Hosts bounced out by ruthless Wallabies” and the Daily Telegraph “Humiliated on home turf.”

“England’s rugby players invited the world to an all-night party and were safely tucked up in bed, alone, before 10pm,” Michael Calvin wrote in the Independent on Sunday.

“Their friends slunk into the shadows, and their guests pillaged the drinks cabinet until they could barely stand.

“The failure of Chris Robshaw’s team is cataclysmic, individually and collectively. They have no one to blame but themselves.”

Former England coach Clive Woodward said there should be an inquest with “consequences” for those in charge, as well as those who appointed them, but said it should happen only after the tournament was over.

“Yes it was a tough pool but England should have been well capable of beating both Wales and Australia,” wrote the World Cup winner.