Donal Lenihan: Wounded Pumas will seek to heap pressure on Irish backfield trio

Donal Lenihan picks out three talking points as Ireland face Argentina, bidding to back up impressive autumn victories over Japan and the All Blacks

Rob Herring, right, and Dave Heffernan get in some passing practice during squad training. Donal Lenihan says this Irish squad is an energising place to be for players right now. Picture: Brendan Moran

Follow that

The question on everyone’s lips coming into last weekend’s mouthwatering clash against New Zealand was, would Ireland be able to recreate the dazzling attacking performance produced in the emphatic win over Japan against the game’s leading side. The answer? An emphatic yes.

It took Ireland only three minutes for the clever dummy lines run by Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose to create enough confusion in New Zealand’s midfield defence to yield an overlap in the wide channels for Jack Conan and Andrew Conway to exploit.

That is exactly what Andy Farrell and attack coach Mike Catt were looking to generate. Doing it against a Japanese defensive unit whose set-up offers you space in the five metre channels is one thing. Being able to create that from the outset against a team as defensively smart as New Zealand is an entirely different matter. The challenge today is to stick to that pattern with only three of last weekend’s backline still in situ.

After a decade plying their trade in the Rugby Championship, this Argentina squad are now well versed in dealing with a similar attacking threat, regularly posed by the likes of New Zealand and Australia. The real test of a coaching team is to impose their game plan and patterns of play on the opposition, regardless of the personnel involved. That is where Fabian Galthie and his French coaches have been really successful since coming on board after the last World Cup.

They have introduced a raft for really talented young players who are all becoming incredibly adept at delivering a consistent approach, both in attack and defence.

To enable this to happen and present the reshuffled Irish backline with a decent platform to play off, Farrell has retained the entire pack that performed so well against New Zealand.

Even that offers no guarantees as this Argentine pack are every bit and combative and aggressive up front as their predecessors. They too have included all their big guns in Marcos Kramer, Pablo Matera, Tomas Lavanini, Guido Petti and Julian Montoya in an effort to stem the flow of possession and frustrate Ireland at the breakdown. So much depends on how much that experienced quintet have left in the tank after an incredibly exhausting period of action.

Los Pumas — Where next?

Argentine rugby has enjoyed a rollercoaster ride on the international stage over the last 20 years. In an ironic twist of fate, this weekend marks the 10th anniversary of the decision to invite them to join New Zealand, Australia and South Africa when the annual Tri-Nations was expanded into the Rugby Championship.

While they still participate in that tournament today, their domestic scene was thrown into chaos last year when their only professional franchise, the Jaguares, were disbanded after the break up of Super Rugby.

New Zealand and Australia wanted less travel for their provincial sides while the leading South African provinces fulfilled their ambition to align themselves with the European season by joining the URC.

The coronavirus and the challenges it has imposed on squads travelling around the world has generated major problems for an Argentinian squad that had come to terms with the demands of playing the best international teams in the game. Only a year ago last weekend, Los Pumas beat New Zealand 25–15 to record their first win over the All Blacks.

Unfortunately, the pandemic has put a serious halt to any progression since then and with no professional club outlet for their players domestically, the majority have flown the nest while others are still chasing contracts in Europe and elsewhere.

Once again these Argentine players have a cause and that makes them dangerous. On the road since mid July — they played the Springboks in South Africa directly after the Lions series — they are currently on their last legs but, having lost seven of their last eight tests this year, will be determined to depart the stage on a high.

For some reason, they rarely fail to show up against Ireland and specialise in making life difficult for us. Today will be no different even if their attacking threat has regressed in recent times. They are content to play a kick/chase game, especially from their own half, and will seek to put big pressure on the Irish backfield trio.

Record points scorer Nicolas Sanchez is held in reserve once again as their coach Mario Ledesma continues to invest in 23-year-old Santiago Carreras at out-half. If the game is in the balance entering the final quarter then Sanchez will be called upon to close it out, something he is more than capable of doing.

Opportunity knocks

Being part of this Irish squad is an energising place to be right now. They are clearly going places and playing the type of rugby every player wants to be part of. Two years out from the World Cup in France, all Irish players will sense that and break iron in their attempts to be part of the group.

With the requirement of Farrell and his management team to be more focused on results than developing fringe players in the forthcoming Six Nations championship, Sunday’s outing offers a final opportunity for a number of players to force themselves into the matchday squad for that tournament.

Beyond that there is the small matter of a three-test tour of New Zealand which Farrell is certain to use as a breeding ground to assess the inner soul of a number of fringe players in the most demanding rugby environment of all.

While most of those looking to push their case for Six Nations inclusion start on the bench tomorrow, Ulster winger Rob Baloucoune is entrusted with showcasing his undoubted talent from the outset.

He lit up the Aviva Stadium with a brilliant individual try, 16 minutes into his international debut against the USA last July. That served as notice of the damage he is capable of doing at this level.

Tomorrow’s opponents operate at a completely different level however and will test his aerial skills in the backfield given the frequency with which they kick.

It helps that his 6’4” frame offers a big advantage over the tigerish Argentine chasers.

It’s with ball in hand however that Baloucoune is capable of wreaking havoc. Given the frequency with which Ireland’s thrilling new attacking shape has been creating overlaps out wide, one hopes that the former sevens specialist will be given every chance to demonstrate his finishing prowess.

Others hoping to leave a lasting impression on Farrell will have to be content with doing so off the bench.

Chief amongst those will be the former U20 Grand Slam-winning half-back partnership of Craig Casey and Harry Byrne. One suspects Ireland may have to be in a commanding position before Farrell launches that pairing.

Up front Dan Sheehan and Tom O’Toole will be thrown in at the deep end at some stage against a grizzled Argentine front row who will certainly test their international credentials.

Sheehan is an outstanding broken field player and a try-scoring machine.

The focus on both him and tighthead prop O’Toole will be on their ability to go toe to toe with their Argentine counterparts at the setpiece.