Ireland v Argentina preview: ‘Meticulous’ hosts to narrowly survive ‘giant slaying’ Los Pumas challenge
Split with Ireland's Caelan Doris and Argentina's Pablo Matera.
Another week in the Autumn Nations Series rolls on and this week the first Test sees Ireland host the Los Pumas of Argentina in an intriguing clash.
The sides come into this one on the back of different results with Ireland falling well short of their standards against the All Blacks last time out while Argentina danced their way to a record win over Italy.
Andy Farrell was a frustrated figure after the All Blacks game but has stuck to his guns making just one change to his starting side with Robbie Henshaw coming in for Bundee Aki.
The decision to let the big dogs run again suggests two things; firstly, Farrell is desperate to avoid back-to-back defeats and is looking to bounce back. Secondly, Argentina are now viewed as a serious threat in world rugby.
Felipe Contepomi’s side have become somewhat of a giant slayer in 2024 having taken a scalp off all their Rugby Championship opponents as well as having an outside chance to win the tournament in the final round.
However, while there has been growth typified by magnificent free-flowing attacking play, Argentina have struggled to back up big performances the week after with Los Pumas at times looking unrecognisable.
It is the highly technical and meticulous green machine facing the instinctual, off the cuff style Argentina which is bound to make for a brilliant Test as Contepomi returns to Ireland as a coach for the first time since leaving the Leinster set-up before last year’s World Cup.
For one it is all to lose and for the other, it is all to gain.
Argentina team v Ireland: Pablo Matera returns as Felipe Contepomi names fully-loaded side
Where the game will be won
As pointed out by Two Cents Rugby, Ireland have lost three games this year and in all of those losses they have had less possession than the opposition. The ball is absolutely critical for the Irish to start weaving that almost clinical-like multi-phase attack that only gets more effective the longer they have the pill.
Therein lies the key to the result, if Ireland are allowed to dominate possession they will most likely win the game as Los Pumas are no longer the kind of team to scrum their opponents out of the game, in fact the hosts may be able to leverage that facet on Friday.
However, if Argentina disrupts the already shaky Ireland line-out and starve the hosts of possession it will spell trouble for the men in green. The South Americans are elusive with ball in hand from their back-row through to Juan Cruz Mallia, who will be right at the top of the carry charts, and if they are given time to run their attack through Tomas Albornoz they have a chance.
Argentina’s position in the game also crucially depends on their discipline which has been an issue at times. If they give away easy penalties the polished and astute Irish side will identify the pressure point and turn the screw.
The Aviva crowd will be an important 16th man for Ireland who will be desperate to bounce back. Beware of the wounded Buffalo.
Last time they met
What they said
Farrell believes his team has what it takes to bounce back from their loss to the All Blacks and the coach also took a moment to note how good Argentina are at the moment.
“A bit of character that we know we’ve got, we know what we’re about,” he said. “After any type of defeat you want to see a reaction and we’ll need a reaction because we’ve got a good team coming here next week.
“They play some really good rugby. Obviously we’ve been watching a lot of them lately through the Championship and they play tomorrow, so interested to see how they carry on the form but obviously they have taken their game to another level and had some big wins, and they’ll certainly be coming here looking for a victory.
“So hence why we have to get back on the horse… that’s the medicine that everyone wants, you know, another game.”
Meanwhile, Contepomi played down his team’s chances of victory acknowledging that one game does not make Ireland a bad side.
“We know it’s a slim opportunity but it’s there. Every game starts from zero,” he said.
“What happened in the last game is nothing to do with what’s going to happen on Friday.
“Ireland are not a bad team from one game to another and we are not a great team because we played one great game.
“We are only building our team, we have done some good things, we have a lot of things to improve and Ireland probably have things that they would like to get right on Friday.
“It’s going to be a massive challenge and we know what we are coming up against.”
Players to watch
James Lowe is the first Irishman on our list largely due to his importance to the team. The wing fulfils all his duties with absolute aplomb whether it’s in the air, finding space to run in to or even connecting defenders, but what sets him apart is that canon of a boot. Ireland will use him to exit often throughout the clash and the better he plays the better the men in green do.
That point applies even more for Jamison Gibson-Park whose value to the squad has sky-rocketed since Johnny Sexton’s retirement. The scrum-half had loads of crucial interventions against the All Blacks and is the heartbeat of the Ireland attack. He is right up there with the best in the world but he will need a bit more from half-back partner Jack Crowley this weekend.
It is not often a bench player makes it on players to watch but we couldn’t look past Cian Healy who will be equalling Brian O’Driscoll’s all-time appearance record for Ireland. What an achievement it will be for an esteemed servant of the game. He will be looking to come off the bench with a bang.
Harlequins man Rodrigo Isgro has looked really dangerous of late with his rather complete skill-set throwing his name in lights more often than not. The former World Rugby Men’s 7s Player of the Year has commanded the transition to 15s and the scary part is that he will only get better. The Argentine lines up against Lowe which will be one of his biggest challenges on the Test scene.
Tomas Albornoz is arguably the most in-form fly-half in the world right now. Since the massive win over Uruguay, it has been Albornoz’s world that we are just living in. It is such a pleasure to see a player with that kind of skill-set to have the confidence and sheer audacity to give it a go on attack. If Argentina get their tails up and the Irish retreating Albornoz could orchestrate something special. We can only see Los Pumas winning if the pivot is at his best.
A brave team needs a brave leader and Julian Montoya is that and some. The veteran hooker will be one of the ley players for his side in disrupting the Irish possession. We have all seen how strong the Leicester Tiger is over the ball and if he is given the chance he will cause chaos at the breakdown. His team needs the best he can give.
Main head-to-head
There are so many good battles across the park but nothing more intriguing than the back-row tussle.
Ireland skipper Caelan Doris was not his usual self with ball in hand last time out and it showed. Never fear however as the number eight is far too good to have that happen twice in a row. He is joined by workhorse duo Tadhg Beirne and Josh van der Flier, both of which will inevitably empty the tank with the former a serious breakdown threat and the latter just sheer work rate. The loose trio will primarily be focused on looking after the ball for their side while trying to handle the rampant Argentine back-row.
Speaking of the Los Pumas back-row, every big win this year has been thanks to monstrous performances from the loose trio with the All Blacks triumph the most prime of the examples. The hard-nose, iron-clad fighter Pablo Matera who wears the blue and white jersey with pride is the man for the biggest occasion so expect him to lead this trio. Joining him is the dynamic Juan Martin Gonzalez who plays anywhere in the back-row but this time he is at flank with Joaquin Oviedo at eight thanks to his outstanding carrying ability. The trio has the tools but they need to stay on the pitch and dominate the breakdown.
Prediction
This one will be a blockbuster. A Test where the new-age Argentina can gauge their progress and a Test where Ireland can issue a reminder to the world of their quality. The Aviva will be jumping as always which be a factor in Ireland’s quest for victory which will see Argentina run the hosts close but the quality of the hosts will shine through only just. Ireland to bounce back with a seven-point win.
Previous results
2021: Ireland won 53-7 in Dublin
2018: Ireland won 28-17 in Dublin
2017: Ireland won 28-19 in Dublin
2015: Argentina won 20-43 in Cardiff
2014: Ireland won 17-23 in Tucuman
2012: Ireland won 46-24 in Dublin
2010: Ireland won 29-9 in Dublin
The teams
Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Ryan Baird, 20 Peter O’Mahony, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Sam Prendergast, 23 Jamie Osborne
Argentina: 15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Matias Moroni, 11 Bautista Delguy, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julián Montoya, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Ignacio Calles, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Santiago Grondona, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Santiago Carreras, 23 Justo Piccardo
Date: Friday, November 15
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 20:10 GMT
Referee: Paul Williams (NZR)
Assistant Referees: Craig Evans (WRU), Angus Mabey (NZR)
TMO: Richard Kelly (NZR)
READ MORE: Andy Farrell lays out expectations as Ireland aim to ‘get back on the horse’ against Argentina
