Devin Toner: 'Injuries no excuse for World Cup exit'

Ireland second-row Devin Toner has refused to blame mounting injury problems for his side's disappointing Rugby World Cup exit.

The Six Nations champions were without the services of a number of key players for their quarter-final showdown with Argentina on Sunday afternoon.

Despite showing character to find a route back into the game after falling 17-0 down at one stage, the task proved too difficult for Ireland to overcome as they once again failed to reach the final four of the showpiece competition.

Speaking to Sports Mole after the match, Toner said: "We were always going to miss those injured players, but we have strength in depth and also have plenty of faith. We cannot make excuses.

"Against a team that good, we simply couldn't afford to go 17 points behind. It's just not good enough. It was frustrating to get back to three points, but they managed to push on again. It is hard to take when you know you can play better; I know others can also do better."

The 43-20 victory for Argentina was their biggest ever over Ireland.