In the end, it just wasn't meant to be: Ireland have been beaten by an inspired Argentine team in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup.

The score? A resounding 43-20.

Though with so many influential players – Paul O'Connell, Sean O'Brien, Johnny Sexton, and Peter O'Mahony – missing from today's game, ultimately Ireland were beaten by the better team on the day.

Englishman walks into a bar. Quickly joined by Welshman and Irishman. Scotsman texts to say "I'm in the taxi, see you soon" #IREvARG

— Tony Wallace (@tonywallace2005) October 18, 2015

And the Boys In Green didn't make things easy for themselves from the outset either. They never lead the game and within 13 minutes were trailing by 17 points.

Still, they went into the dressing room a more reasonable 20-10 down following a fantastic try by Luke Fitzgerald. 

Jodi Murphy along with an Ian Henderson conversion had Ireland within three-points of their rivals, but by the end, Argentina had stormed home with two more tries to really seal the deal. 

They now face either Scotland or Australia in the semi-final.

To the bitter end. The lads show their thanks and the crowd cheer. #IREvArg #ShoulderToShoulder #emotionalfarewell pic.twitter.com/7iJweASMsb

— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) October 18, 2015

Despite being currently ranked third in the world – with a high of a second-place position also attained earlier this year – it seems that the squad struggle to produce their best rugby at world cup level, and once again have failed to progress into the final four.

In four years' time, Ireland will travel to Japan for the 2019 contest – where they will hope they can finally break that pattern.