IRELAND beat their next opponents Romania 44-14 at the 1999 Rugby World Cup, but it was another tournament of underachieving for the Irish.
The 1999 event was spread over several countries and Ireland’s meeting with Romania took place in Lansdowne Road, although the stadium was far from full with just 33,000 in attendance.
In between the win over Romania and a 53-8 drubbing of USA, Ireland were trounced 23-3 by eventual winners Australia.
With only four teams in their pool that year, it saw Ireland finish second in the group and go on to face Argentina in a quarter-final play-off, with the South Americans claiming a 28-24 victory.
The match was dominated by two strong packs of forwards and the boots of their respective fly-halves, with Diego Albanese scoring the only try of the game for the Argentines.
All 24 of Ireland’s points came from David Humphreys, who kicked seven penalties and one drop-goal, but the try proved the difference as the Irish failed to reach the last eight at a Rugby World Cup for the first time.
Scroll through our pictures of the campaign above.
