Revenge not right motivation, says Wood

KEITH WOOD claimed Ireland would be wrong to use their World Cup defeat to Argentina four years ago as motivation for Sunday’s Adelaide Oval showdown.

The Pumas’ 28-24 quarter-final play-off victory in Lens is still regarded as one of the biggest shocks in the tournament’s history and the teams square up this weekend with a last-eight berth again the prize.

Skipper Wood, though, is not convinced planning a revenge mission is the best approach to such a crucial game.

Rather than dwell on the negatives of defeat, the inspirational Lions hooker would prefer to look at the positives of recent performances.

“It would be a flawed approach to use what happened against them four years ago as a key component in our motivation for Sunday’s game,” said the 32-year-old .

“The tragedy of that day wasn’t the defeat because that would be showing a total lack of respect to Argentina and the manner in which they played.

“The disaster of it was that we didn’t play ourselves. We had a poor game plan and we adhered to it. We didn’t function and it wasn’t good enough.

“The management has grown considerably since as have the team. We now have options available to change the game when we need to.

“I don’t think about what happened in 1999, we have beaten them since then anyway.

“We need to take Sunday’s game on its merits, look at how we have gone since then, how they have gone on since then and formulate a game plan that is apt for 2003, not one that reflects back on what occurred four years ago.”

Ireland will go into the match as favourites after an impressive run over the last 12 months which now sees them ranked as the fourth best team on the planet.

However, at number seven, Argentina are no slouches themselves and could easily come out on top if the game degenerates into a forward battle.

The Irish backs, however, appear far sharper. Winger Denis Hickie has four tries to his name already and while Brian O’Driscoll hasn’t got his name onto the scoresheet yet, his genius is already confirmed.

In addition, coach Eddie O’Sullivan has the choice of two outstanding fly-halves in Ronan O’Gara and David Humphreys.

If that were not enough, Ireland will go into the game having enjoyed a full week’s break after their romp over Namibia, while Argentina still have to overcome Romania at Aussie Stadium tomorrow evening before they head to Australia’s south coast.

Pumas coach Marcelo Loffreda has already expressed his dissatisfaction with the cramped fixture schedule, although Wood believed, for short stints at least, it could easily turn into an advantage.

“You know it is going to be tough but it’s almost like a follow on. It will be hard for them, but they could also use it as a plus.”

Meanwhile, Wood has called upon his team to be extra vigilant in their efforts not to fall foul of South African referee Andre Watson.

Having been boosted by the decision not to cite lock Paul O’Connell following the stamping allegations against Namibia, the Ireland skipper is keen for his team not to fall foul of the rule book .

“At the start of every tournament, ground rules are laid down, particularly in terms of discipline,” he said. “The referees focus on certain areas and this time it seems to be the tackle area. We have to be totally sure in what we do.”