It was the day the 2003 Rugby World Cup came alive, and the day Ireland's World Cup almost died. However, after four years of hurt, Ireland avenged their play-off defeat by Argentina in the 1999 World Cup in Lens by beating the Pumas 16-15 in Adelaide yesterday to go through to the quarter-finals.
Irish coach Eddie O'Sullivan had forewarned that it would be like trench warfare, selecting possibly the biggest Irish pack of forwards ever to take the field, and it was all of that and more.
For a day, it seemed that Adelaide had become a small little corner of Ireland. In the afternoon the squad had convened on the seventh floor of their base in the Hilton Hotel and, such was the congregation of Irish supporters in the hotel lobby and bar, they could hear a rendition of the Fields of Athenry from ground level booming through the floors.
Yet the estimated 15,000 Irish fans among the 28,803 crowd lived on tenterhooks for much of the match. Thanks to a moment of inspiration from Keith Wood, who sold a dummy pass that everybody in the ground bought, Alan Quinlan scored the only try of the match in the first half and Ireland led 10-9 at the break, having played with the wind. Quinlan, in the process of touching down, sustained a dislocated shoulder and his World Cup is over.
Nearing the hour mark, though, a mammoth drop goal by Argentinian full back Ignacio Corleto put Argentina deservedly ahead by 12-10. Only then did the Irish fans burst into a chant of "Ireland". It was sung out of pure fear more than joy. But Ireland dug deep, and two penalties by Ronan O'Gara enabled them to withstand a late rally by the Pumas.
The expanding green army moves on to Melbourne where they will play Australia next Saturday in a Pool A decider. The winners advance to a Brisbane quarter-final against a hapless Scottish side, whereas the losers will face a far more daunting assignment against a confident French side in Melbourne.
"I would have preferred if it (the tournament) hadn't come alive quite like that," quipped a mightily relieved O'Sullivan.
The two extremes of this lopsided tournament were ably demonstrated by the two Pool A matches which were granted to this cricketing and Aussie Rules outpost in south Australia over the weekend. On Saturday a partisan Adelaide Oval crowd witnessed the grotesque try-feast that was Australia's record 142-0 win over Namibia.
"That's the beauty of rugby," ventured O'Sullivan. "Yesterday you had 22 tries and today we only had one, yet which was the better game of rugby?" he asked rhetorically.
There was no need to answer.