Ireland defeat Argentina 42-12 in Nations Championship opener

Ireland kicked off their autumn Nations Championship campaign with a commanding 42-12 victory against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Friday night. The home side secured the win by scoring six tries during the encounter.

Following the match, the Ireland Rugby Social podcast featured a discussion between BBC Sport NI's Gavin Andrews, Ireland second row Joe McCarthy, and former Ireland scrum-half Conor Murray to analyse the performance. The team now turns its attention to upcoming fixtures against Fiji and South Africa later this month.

The full podcast episode is available to watch on the BBC NI YouTube channel or to listen to via BBC Sounds. During the programme, Conor Murray shared several highlights regarding the squad's display.

Regarding Hugo Keenan, who achieved a hat-trick of tries, Murray said: "Hugo stood out but he's always going to do that. He talks so much on the pitch and makes it way easier for the players around him. He's always marshalling the wingers and that kind of back-field system. That's Hugo in a nutshell. He's the ultimate team player. He looked incredibly fit, incredibly quick, explosive. He looked back to his best."

Murray also commented on the new half-back partnership of Sam Prendergast and Craig Casey: "Craig and Sam marshalled the game really well. Not that there were question marks but they were a relatively new combination and it was their first time getting a big Test start together. Sam can forget what he's been through, I suppose the rocky start to his international career and the public scrutiny on him.

He looks like a player who has just soaked it all in and is using it as a weapon now. He looked really sharp. He looks like he has bulked up, which is great to see too.

There'll be a target on his back, there was already but there definitely will be now as he is such a big influence. We know what Craig Casey can do in terms of quick ball and magical moments but now in terms of the control of the game. His passing was on the money and his kicking is top notch.

The overall control is probably the test that Andy Farrell gave him. He knows what he can do in loose play but in terms of controlling a Test game I thought the half-backs were brilliant."

Finally, Murray praised the work of the forwards: "[Tadhg] Furlong went really well, he's always a standard-bearer anyhow and you get top-notch performances from him, but [Andrew] Porter, another player who came back from an extended period out with injury, he's come back and showed what he's about. His explosiveness in open play and his fitness, he's like another back row on the field. Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Beirne, Joe McCarthy, Ryan Baird, the back row, across the board, all really good. I think Nick Timoney and Josh [van der Flier] are in a real battle as regards that number seven jersey."