Ireland 15 Argentina 30

Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan last night vowed to see out his contract and insisted an horrendous World Cup has not diminished his hunger for the job.

The Irish were dumped out of the tournament with a 30-15 defeat by Argentina, who face Scotland in next Sunday's quarter-final at the Stade de France.

A team who arrived in France with pretensions of reaching the semi-finals has instead failed to reach the knockout stages for the first time.

Their abysmal form throughout the tournament has cranked up the pressure on O'Sullivan, who was awarded a four-year extension to his contract last month.

''I'm totally committed to this job. I still have a contract to run and every intention of seeing it though,'' he said.

''I have the appetite for the job and I want to see it out. This has been a tough World Cup, no question about it.

''Things haven't gone to plan but that's no reason to walk away.

''I've never walked away from a challenge in my life and I don't intend to start now.''

Skipper Brian O'Driscoll, who scored Ireland's first try, absolved O'Sullivan of blame for the team's performance.

A hallmark of their World Cup has been the failure of big names such as Gordon D'Arcy and Ronan O'Gara to justify their reputations and O'Driscoll admitted the players had not delivered.

''It feels very low to be knocked out of the World Cup. It's the second time I've felt this way at the hands of Argentina,'' said the Leinster skipper. "The players must take the blame."

Ireland entered the match needing to beat Argentina by more than seven points while scoring a minimum of four tries, but that target looked way beyond them.

Tries from O'Driscoll and Geordan Murphy gave them faint hope but Argentina, who were hugely impressive again, never loosened their vice-like grip on the match.

Wingers Lucas Borges and Horacio Agulla crossed in the first half for the Pumas, Felipe Contepomi booted 11 points and Juan Martin Hernandez weighed in with a hat-trick of drop goals.