Last week we mentioned the communication dif"culties RTE had in Santa Fe . . . particularly RTE Radio who were unable to broadcast the game because their ISDN lines weren't installed in time . . . but the Television Match Of"cial at the venue also had a tough time of it.

The communication equipment between the touch judges, TMO and referee, which were supposed to be provided by the UAR, never arrived at the venue and had there been the need for a decision to be referred upstairs, we would have witnessed the bizarre scene of an of"cial ferrying a walkie-talkie out to Lyndon Bray in order to communicate with this TMO in the stand. Not only that. The TMO had the bene"t of just one camera angle in front of him so the chances were he wouldn't have been able to award a try if he had been called into action.

IRISH RAIL SHOULD COUNT THEIR BLESSINGS

Interesting goings on in Buenos Aires during the week. When it was announced over the PA system at a city centre subway station that there would be a delay to peak-time services because of an electrical fault, a riot broke out with commuters chasing subway workers into their of"ces and causing damage to the "xtures and "ttings in the station. The situation was eventually calmed down with the help of a few dozen riot police, but apparently it's a common form of protest in a city that isn't exactly blessed with ef"ciency. If the Iarnrod Eireann complaints people think they have it tough, they can count their lucky stars Irish consumers are so placid.

NO FAIR WEATHER FANS IN ARGENTINA

A few members of the Irish team not on duty in Buenos Aires yesterday, as well as half the media corps in Argentina, ventured to Estadio Diego Armando Maradona on Friday night to watch the great man's "rst club, Argentinos Juniors, host league leaders San Lorenzo in the Argentinean Primera Division. A full house of 18,000 saw the home side come from behind to earn a draw that now puts San Lorenzo's title challenge in a bit of bother. If the football was a little frantic at times, it was nothing compared to what was going on the terraces. Let's just say that if you thought Thomond Park had a special atmosphere, then this was something else again. What stood out more than anything was the fact that this kind of thing happens every single weekend in Argentina, not just when the big games come around. There appears to be no Magners League mentality among the fans over here.

THE LAW LIBRARY

During last weekend's Ireland and Argentina game in Santa Fe, a number of Irish fans confessed to Against the Head that they were a touch confused about the mark law because of two incidents from the game. The first confusion occurred when Gavin Duffy appeared to catch the ball outside his own 22, yet was still awarded a mark. The second occurred when the full-back called for a mark but then weaved his way around an opponent before being called back. In the first case above, the laws of the game are not exactly clear on what should have happened. Law 18 states that a player may call a mark if just one of his feet are inside his own 22, although it doesn't specify what should happen if a player lands outside his 22 having caught it inside. In the second case, it would appear that the referee had blown for the mark before Duffy avoided an onrushing opponent and skipped down"eld. Once the referee blows his whistle, as we all know, there's no going back on it.
MOUTHING OFF. . .

ARGENTINA BY NUMBERS: 15

The price in pesos of the cheapest ticket for yesterday's Argentina and Ireland match in Buenos Aires. That works out at roughly 3.50.

RUGBY POSER

Before last night's game, how many times have Ireland lost a game against Argentina in Buenos Aires?

Ans2 I think the IRB needs to lead and lead very strongly and work with the clubs in Europe to ensure we preserve this great game, and at the moment there's not a lot of sign of that. When sides are coming to this side of the world that are not as strong as they should be, that's not good for the game All Blacks coach Graham Henry has a pot/kettle moment during the week in the build-up to yesterday's international against an understrength France That's rather rich coming from Graham Henry. These summer tours, particularly with the World Cup moving forward a month, are a bit ridiculous. It's kind of rich coming from the Southern Hemisphere when they're not bringing their sides up for an autumn series this year Eddie O'Sullivan (right) responding to Henry's comments