Ireland defence coach Anthony Foley admits that there is huge pressure for them to beat Argentina in Dublin on Saturday.
A loss to the Pumas would mean Ireland will drop down to the third tier of seeds for next month's draw for the 2015 World Cup, which is based on the IRB rankings system.
That means that they will compete in a pool containing two major rivals - something which Ireland are desperate to avoid as it could mean that they wait until 2019 for redemption.
After a loss to South Africa and an easy win over Fiji there is plenty riding on the Argentina match and Foley knows the importance of this weekend's encounter.
"This is probably the biggest game I've been involved in during an autumn series," he told Press Association Sport
"It has ramifications across the board for the next three years so it's very important.
"But it's still 80 minutes of rugby so we need to get our preparation right, make sure the boys get a good night's sleep and not worry too much about it.
"If we have a good mentality on the weekend we should be okay. If you start worrying about results you'll miss what's in front of you.
"Judging by what we've done for the last two weeks, it's pretty spot-on where we are at the moment.
"Preparation is going well, guys are turning up and willing to put their bodies on the line.
"There isn't much being held back in training and there isn't much being held back in preparation.
"We all know what the consequences of the weekend are, but the most important thing is that we make sure we get our processes in place."
Comments
Norm says...
Ciaran
Spot on. And same goes gfor POC. USe them wisely now and we get more out of both. Why wait to we have a locking and centre problem along the lines of the scrum implosion at twickenham when Ross got injured. We have better options in both centre and 2nd row, but that doesnt mean we should be holding off on bringing them through. Ryan/ Tuohy should be starting pair every time, re outside centre I fancy Cave as the best option here, one game does not put Liuke Marshall on the starting sheet for ever more but he and others should be made fight for it. I will possibly draw some ire for this but I too think that Sexton would make a great 12, we have other options we can look to at 10 if we are truly going to build to the next world cup. I think the 12 shirt would actually liberate Sexton so much.
If Reddan can get the Leinster backs moving, what would Marshall's speed and instinct do for them. At the minute the best of the Leinster and Ulster backs, complimented by Zebo, would be a formidable unit.
WRT to this article, Got to give it to Foley, I was dismayed by his appointment, but the defence held up excellent last week albeit against a less than thorough examination. Nonetheless credit where it is due.
Going to foolishly take an optimistic view toward Saturday and the 6N, however with team announcement imminent, this may be a short lived burst of optimism. Please Kidney not Darcy & Earls, pleeeeaaaaase... for the sake of the children....
Posted 11:44 22nd November 2012
damo says...
Kidney must go - I have said it from prior to last years 6nations, then Darcy must go allowing a number 12 who can run, break tackles and score trys Gordo does none of the above $exy at 12 ROG at 10 and we could beat the Argies, Marshall has to get a start at 9 as Ireland have been weak there for many years, Heaslip needs to be dropped and what does Dekkie do (Captain :)) Hilarious, he must have said who looks the stupidest and has the worst stats for a number 8 in International rugby for line breaks/tackle busts - oh yeah he is my new Captain (IDIOTIC)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted 21:18 21st November 2012
melkdave says...
No kidding lol,Ireland arnt under pressure at all,it will be a walk in the park LOLThe big question for me is Kidney ready to trust the young talant ,as he did against Fiji ,to some extent,and they didnt let Ireland or him down.Myself i feel we will see the same old faces ,and it will be a very hard fought game.Hopefully Ireland will be victorious ,
Posted 21:08 21st November 2012
ciaran1792 says...
I wouldn't return O'Driscoll to the first XV I think we need to develop a new center and that BOD should have pressure put on him. I would use Cave and Luke Marshal also it would be useful to be able to rotate O'Driscoll means we will get longer out of him. But we really need to start planing for the future and we cant keep relying on him.
Posted 17:33 21st November 2012
spike19 says...
I think if Ireland play smart rugby and hold on to the ball they can out play Argentina who are at the end of a long season. Gilroy deserves a shot on the wing its a little harsh on Trimble but Gilroy just looks a bit sharper andwill add some exuberance to the team.
I cant see where there would be other changes, Ian Henderson was very impressive against Fiji but should remain on the bench along with Bent and Kilcoyne.
Jackson and Marshall were also stand out against Fiji but with so much at stake I would stick with O'Gara and Mcfadden on the Irish bench. O'Gara knows how to close out games and McFadden has utility value.
If Ireland win it will provide a great platform to launch into the 6nations and with the return of our game breakers like BOD, Best, O'Connell, Ferris, O'Brien and Kearney augmented by the rise of the young tyros like Henderson, Kilcoyne, Marshall, Jackson, Gilroy and Zebo anything is possible.
Posted 16:49 21st November 2012
Patagon says...
The element of pressure should work as a good motivator in particular for Ireland, but also Argentina will feel it had a bad campaign if they loose two out of three tests in Europe. They are eager (and hungry) to win. Therefore, there is pressure in both camps.
Every time they have played in the past thirty years we had very exciting and nervy matches. I guess it will another one like that.
Posted 12:25 21st November 2012