Ireland ensured a place in the quarter-final playoffs of the Rugby World Cup last night when they outplayed Romania 44-14 in the last of their Pool E games at Lansdowne Road.
Ireland, not unexpectedly, advance as the second-placed team in the pool behind Australia. The side must now wait until this evening, when Argentina meet Japan in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, to know who their opposition will be on Wednesday night in Lens, France. Ireland are likely to face either the Argentinians or Samoa.
The winners in Lens will earn a place in the quarter-final, which will be held in Dublin on October 24th.
Ireland, with a view to Wednesday's match, rested a number of key players but took a comfortable 27-6 half-time lead with tries from captain Dion O'Cuinneagain, Andy Ward and Conor O'Shea. O'Shea and Tom Tierney added further tries in the second period with Brian O'Driscoll claiming a drop goal, while out-half Eric Elwood kicked 16 points.
