Ireland holds out Pumas 22-19 for relieving win in Dublin

DUBLIN (AP) — Ireland survived a thrilling comeback from Argentina to hold on for a relieving 22-19 win in a gritty autumn rugby test on Friday.

Ireland led by a deserved 22-9 after a frantic first half but the Pumas underlined their reputation as a second half team by closing to within three with a half-hour to go.

While Ireland conceded another swag of penalties for a second straight test, it was the Pumas' own indiscipline which cost them an historic first win in Dublin.

Prop Francisco Gomez Kodela was yellow-carded with five minutes to go, and his body was missed as the Pumas pushed the Irish back to five meters from their try-line until a knock-on in a ruck in front of the posts ended the game two minutes into injury time.

Ireland won but it wasn't the convincing statement it wanted to make after the Six Nations champion was stunned by New Zealand last week, losing its four-year winning streak at home and the No. 1 ranking.

“Glad we got the win,” Ireland coach Andy Farrell told broadcaster TNT Sport. “Last week we could have won ugly but we didn't. This week we did.”

Irish indiscipline was a major issue again — 13 penalties conceded in consecutive tests — and offset by brilliant defense to limit the Pumas to one try and keep them out at the gripping end of both halves.

Irish celebrations were muted while the Pumas despaired. They hadn't finished this close in Dublin in 20 years.

The team which has beaten South Africa, New Zealand, France and Australia since July suffered in a madcap start.

Under pressure from a chargedown and missed touchfinder in the first minute, Argentina scored in the third through center Matias Moroni. But the try was disallowed because of Moroni's head-on-head tackle of flyhalf Jack Crowley.

While Moroni was in the sin-bin, Crowley punched the ball in for his first test try.

Irish center Garry Ringrose then recovered a dropped pass and broke into space, and Tadhg Beirne gave wing Mack Hansen a try in the sixth minute for 12-0.

Beirne then had a try scratched off when he lost control over the line in a three-man tackle.

Around the time Irish prop Finlay Bealham was yellow-carded for a crocodile roll, Tomas Albornoz was kicking the Pumas back in touch.

Crowley's 40-meter drop goal put Argentina at arm's length and lock Joe McCarthy's converted try put Ireland up 22-9 eight minutes from the break.

But what an eight minutes. Argentina snubbed penalty kicks for lineouts and a tapped penalty in search of the try to stay in the game. But the Pumas were held up over the line, a crosskick bounced unkindly, and at the third attempt, ruck ball was stolen in front of the posts.

Ireland went to the changing rooms bolstered, but within five minutes the Pumas claimed their try, a cracking solo effort by fullback Juan Cruz Mallia past three defenders from nearly 40 meters out.

Albornoz converted then added a fourth penalty when referee Paul Williams' patience with Ireland ran out. McCarthy, blatantly offside, was yellow-carded for Ireland's ninth penalty in 50 minutes.

Ireland has conceded yellow cards in eight of its nine tests this year.

“It's something we need to keep addressing,” Farrell said. “They are trying to do the right thing for the team and they are trying to make a difference. Sometimes that spills over the edge. We need to show a little bit more patience and trust what's going on.”

As Ireland struggled to deliver a killer blow, the packed crowd applauded the departure of Crowley for a try, two conversions, a drop goal and a better showing than against the All Blacks. They also rose again for the arrival of prop Cian Healy, whose 133rd test equalled the Irish record of Brian O'Driscoll.

Healy debuted in 2009. Gomez Kodela debuted in 2008. The 40-year-old Pumas prop was sin-binned for a reckless clearout of Irish captain Caelan Doris and his heft was sorely missed by his never-say-die team.

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Argentina's Guido Petti, top, jumps for the ball during the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and Argentina, at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Ireland's Tadhg Beirne is tackled by Argentina's Lucio Cinti during the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and Argentina, at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Brian Lawless//PA via AP)

Argentina's Juan Cruz Mallia races through to score his side's first try of the game during the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and Argentina, at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Brian Lawless//PA via AP)

Argentina's players dejected at the end of the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and Argentina, at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Ireland's Jack Crowley, right, scores a try as Argentina's Lucio Cinti tries to defend during the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and Argentina, at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Ireland's Mack Hansen, right, scires a try during the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and Argentina, at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Ireland's Tadhg Beirne, right, is tackled by Argentina's Lucio Cinti during the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and Argentina, at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Argentina's Joaquin Oviedo, centre, is tackled by Ireland's Finlay Bealham, left, during the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and Argentina, at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Leaders of Pacific Rim countries including the U.S. and China gathered Friday in Peru for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, the first major global summit since U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory.

The annual gathering brings together 21 economies that jointly account for almost two-thirds of global GDP and half the world’s trade, according to organizers.

Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden joined China’s President Xi Jinping, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto, Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and others as the world wonders how a new U.S. government might upend global dynamics.

Leaders and other representatives will hold closed-door discussions in the morning, following a welcome address by Peru's President Dina Boluarte that focused on the need to promote inclusive growth and reduce informal labor in APEC economies.

“Our objective is to level the playing field, providing all the necessary tools for inclusion in social, financial and commercial spaces,” Boluarte said. “We are convinced that growth starts with inclusion and that this is only possible through the empowerment of the citizenry that is the motor of our economies.”

APEC is bound to be one of Biden's last global summits before leaving office, and White House officials insist that his attendance as well as his subsequent visit to Brazil for the Group of 20 meeting next week will be substantive, with talks to focus on climate issues, global infrastructure, counter-narcotic efforts. The officials say Biden also will use the summits to press allies to keep up support for Ukraine as it tries to fend off Russia’s invasion and persist in negotiating an end to Israel's wars in Lebanon and Gaza.

For the first time since last year’s APEC forum, Biden will meet one-on-one with Chinese President Xi on Saturday. He met Peru’s Boluarte early afternoon Friday, and later with South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol and Japan’s Shigeru Ishiba.

Biden praised the cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the U.S. at countering what he described as North Korea’s “dangerous and destabilizing cooperation with Russia.” He celebrated the partnership between Japan and South Korea, two countries that have historical enmity but under Biden’s presidency are now tightening security and economic ties as their corner of the world becomes more complicated.

“This is likely to be my last trilateral meeting with this important group. But I’m proud to have helped be one of the parts of building this partnership, and I think it’s built to last. That’s my hope and expectation. I truly believe cooperation of our countries will be the foundation to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific for many years to come," Biden said.

Through a translator, Ishiba echoed the sentiment: “I look forward to furthering our partnership in response against North Korea and in many other areas.”

Still, analysts said Biden may be overshadowed at APEC by Xi, who on Thursday night started his visit by inaugurating a $1.3 billion megaport that is perhaps the clearest sign of Latin America’s ongoing reorientation in the region.

Xi also met with Yoon on Friday. The Chinese leader appealed to neighborliness and cultural affinity, urging closer ties including contacts both at the high level and among people, according to China's state broadcaster CGTN. Xi told Yoon that the two countries should work together to safeguard the international free trade system and ensure the stability of the global supply chains, as Beijing is bracing for the Trump administration. Trump has threatened to impose 60% tariffs on Chinese goods.

Beijing announced on Nov. 1 that South Korean citizens can travel to China visa-free for up to 15 days, a move seen as countering the U.S.-Japan-South Korea alliance.

Xi also held bilaterals Friday with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Chile’s President Gabriel Boric and New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, according to CGTN. On Thursday, he sat down privately with Boluarte.

Addressing questions regarding an incoming Trump administration at the APEC CEO summit, Canada's Trudeau recalled the last time Trump took office, pledging to rip up the North American Free Trade Agreement. Instead, he said, the nations worked hard to find ways to forge new terms, known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, that served as proof trade can be beneficial to all parties.

“It wasn’t easy. And nothing is going to be easy this time,” Trudeau said. “Little secret: There is no American administration that is automatically easy for a Canadian government. They take a very robust look at their own interests and Canada adjusts.”

Likewise U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken used his 10-minute speech to champion more robust engagement with the world. Facing an audience seemingly drained by the long day of speeches, he joked: “I understand I’m the only thing standing between most of you and a Pisco sour” — Peru's national cocktail.

Although he didn’t mention Trump by name – nor his protectionist “America First” doctrine – Blinken offered a spirited defense of the Biden administration’s focus on reviving global relationships.

“Around the world we reimagined, re-energized, revitalized, strengthened and wove together our alliances and partnerships to try to advance an increasingly shared vision for a future,” he said.

He said Washington in recent years had stepped up involvement in multilateral organizations like APEC, saying such forums “are incredibly important. They concentrate minds.”

Outside Lima’s Convention Center where APEC is sited, metal barriers and police equipped with riot gear are surrounding the perimeter. For the past two days, anti-government protesters angry about a recent spate of gang-fueled violence have shouted slogans demanding that their wildly unpopular president take action against the crime wave.

The rallies have devolved into scuffles with police, who used batons to drive away the more aggressive protesters on Thursday. As APEC leaders gathered on Friday, a few dozen protesters were stopped by security barricades several blocks from the convention center. Vastly outnumbered by riot police, they chanted against government corruption and denounced Boluarte for the deaths of dozens of protesters in the wake of her predecessor’s ouster.

“Why would we want APEC here when the investment is just going to line their pockets?” Maria Melendez, a 48-year-old tour guide said of corrupt government officials. “We’re hungry and they’re over there talking about billions of dollars. How is that going to help us?”

Mia Rivera, 58, held a portrait of the ousted president, Pedro Castillo, and said she was discouraged by the low turnout. She said the heavy police presence and memory of the violent crackdown against demonstrators in 2022 deterred many of her friends from marching this week.

Associated Press writers Aamer Medhani in Lima and Didi Tang in Washington contributed.

South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a handover ceremony at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

President Joe Biden, center, introduces President of Peru Dina Boluarte, second right, to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, left, as White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, second left, looks on before a bilateral meeting in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Joe Biden listens as President of Peru Dina Boluarte speaks during a bilateral meeting in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol waves during a handover ceremony at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol pose for a photo as they meet on the sidelines of the the APEC summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

President Joe Biden, left, speaks with President of Peru Dina Boluarte during a bilateral meeting in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President of Peru Dina Boluarte, second right, greets White House deputy chief of staff Bruce Reed as NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, from second left, and President Joe Biden look on before a bilateral meeting in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

U.S. President Joe Biden attends the APEC Leaders' Informal Dialogue at the APEC Summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Chinese President Xi Jinping looks on during a ceremony to virtually inaugurate a Chinese-funded port in the city of Chancay, at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

China's President Xi Jinping, center, and Peru's President Dina Boluarte arrive at a virtual ceremony to inaugurate a Chinese-funded port in the city of Chancay, at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

An anti-government protester holds a sign with a message that reads in Spanish: "APEC Out" during a demonstration on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chilean President Gabriel Boric embrace during the APEC Leaders' Informal Dialogue at the APEC Summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

President Joe Biden, from front row left, President of Vietnam Luong Cuong and Peru's Foreign Affairs Minister Elmer Schialer, participate in the APEC Leaders' Informal Dialogue at the APEC Summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. In background at left is Secretary of State Antony Blinken. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in the APEC Leaders' Informal Dialogue at the APEC Summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

An anti-government protester confronts a cordon of police officers during a demonstration on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)

Airmen stand guard next to a drone shield on the perimeters of the Ministry of Culture, the venue for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

U.S. President Joe Biden arrives to take part to in the Leaders' Informal Dialogue of the APEC Summit, in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

U.S. President Joe Biden arrives by car to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Police officers with national flags make their way to the Ministry of Culture, the venue for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)

Peru's President Dina Boluarte, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping face the honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Peru's President Dina Boluarte speaks during the APEC Leaders' Informal Dialogue at the APEC Summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Police officers block anti-government protesters from making their way to Congress, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, left, and Peru's President Dina Boluarte pose for photos on the steps of the government palace during a welcoming ceremony at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Police detain an anti-government protester on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Children walk around in the Senor de la Soledad shantytown near a Chinese-funded port in Chancay, Peru, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

President Joe Biden greets Peru's Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen as he arrives at Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, to attend the APEC Summit. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

An anti-government protester holds a sign during a demonstration on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Peru's President Dina Boluarte, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands after a ceremony to virtually inaugurate a Chinese-funded port in the city of Chancay, at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

A Peruvian honor guard stand in formation at the end of a welcoming ceremony for Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

U.S. President Joe Biden deplanes in Lima, Peru, to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)

Air Force members fix the red carpet before the arrival of Vietnam's President Luong Cuong in Lima, Peru, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)

Vietnam's President Luong Cuong, left, and Peru's President Dina Boluarte pose for photos on the steps of the government palace in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Peru's Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen, wave on the airport tarmac after Xi's arrival to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)