Jeopardy is a word with plenty of currency in rugby these days. Mostly it is used in reference to how competitions are structured, but also in describing individual matches. This one had plenty. Not always evident, especially in the first half when Ireland looked a good deal better than against the All Blacks a week ago. But the race down the home straight, with Argentina a man down, had heaps of it. When at last the pressure was relieved for the home team pretty much all of them called the knock on. And then gave thanks for deliverance.

That’s what it was. Coincidentally it is 25 years since a long night in Lens when a different sort of finish changed rugby in both countries. Bizarrely it was better for both, albeit for Ireland that bonus was a long time coming. Losing on the night turned into winning in the long run.

The endgame here should have fizzled out at the loss of replacement prop Francisco Gomez Kodela, for a high shot clearout on Caelan Doris. Battling desperately to lift the siege that should have told the Pumas the dance was over and time to go home. Instead they drove on and on, pounding their way through their short game, until eventually coughing the ball up on another carry with the line just five metres away.

On the basis there’s little Andy Farrell likes more in this life than a challenge, he should have been beaming. He hardly factored that finish into his budget though.

“It was three or four games in one wasn’t it?” he said afterwards. “We’re delighted to get the win. There were some things we needed to learn from last week and some things we needed to address on the field, and didn’t. We said last week we had a chance of winning ugly but did it this week, which was a plus.”

It was far from ugly in the first half, when the try of the game was scrubbed as Tadhg Beirne lost control going over the line. At that point it was hard to see the sweat glands working overtime in the last 10 minutes of the game.

By that stage Felipe Contepomi’s heart must have been beating out of his chest. For the Pumas this was a hard station to endure. They kept their composure in the first half when Ireland rattled in three tries – two in the first six minutes to Jack Crowley and Mack Hansen, with Joe McCarthy following up on the half hour – while Tomás Albornoz nudged the scoreboard along via the kicking tee.

“I’m very proud of the boys,” Contepomi said. “One thing we need to get better at is the start, but we stuck with and stayed at it. Ireland threw everything at us but we defended well.”

When Argentina scored a beautiful individual try through Jean Cruz Mallia, leaving three green shirts in his wake, they went up a gear – and quicker again when Albornoz took another three with man of the match Joe McCarthy getting the bin.

So, having survived their own spell down a man early in the game – Matias Moroni whacked Crowley high, which cost his team a try – they were very much in business. But Ireland defended well, even if their own approach play bugged Farrell: they were getting in behind the blue wall and then losing their composure.

The bits that paid off for Ireland came in how debutants Tom Clarkson and Sam Prendergast performed.

“I thought he was excellent,” Farrell said of his replacement fly-half, who is in line to start against Fiji next Saturday. “He was so composed playing his first cap in that type of position and that type of situation. He had a nice tempo at the line and showed what kind of character he’s got.”

Clarkson’s performance was solid enough in an area where Ireland are short staffed, both loose and tight head. At the other end of the scale Cian Healy is now perching his broad derriere on the same step of 133 caps as Brian O’Driscoll. To still be playing the game given the injury road he has travelled is part miracle, part perseverance. It’s also a commentary on the lack of depth, that they are still dialling his number on Test weekends. They need far more traffic in that zone.

The prospect of zero from two in the Autumn Nations series was always a long shot for Ireland, but its prospect kept Farrell, and his captain, Doris, especially, on edge all week. The endgame proved they had every reason to be worried.