Pumas should be too strong

A GOOD start, maintain the tempo, control the football, be accurate and disciplined and don’t be intimidated by a partisan crowd – these will be some of Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan orders to his team as the first of two “trials” ahead of Rugby World Cup 2007 kicks off at the Estadio Brigadier Estanislao Lopez del Barrio Centenario in Santa Fe later today (kick off 8:10pm Irish time).

The signals emanating from the Ireland dressing room all week have been so positive that they possibly are the happiest rugby touring party ever to set foot on Argentinean soil. Ireland’s record against Los Pumas is played seven, won five and lost two – the two back-to-back losses being Lens in 1999 (will we ever forget?) and in Buenos Aires seven months later. Since then, Ireland have won three on the bounce, but there’s never more than a score or two in it.

And why should it be any different this time? The individuals on both teams need a good performance to cement squad places for France.

“It’s quite extraordinary we’ve played each other so much in the last six or seven years,” commented O’Sullivan yesterday. “Looking through the results of those games, we edged it out in recent years. It has always been incredibly tight. There’s a good tradition there, a very healthy respect for each other and that’s why we would give the Pumas a lot more respect than the other countries because we’ve played them so often. And we know what a good side they are.”

Fundamentally, O’Sullivan is looking for a good performance and reiterated his previously stated tour policy that win, lose or draw, there will be wholesale changes made for next weekend’s second test in Buenos Aires.

“No matter what the result is tomorrow, I’m going to stick to my word on that, and I know a lot of the lads not involved tomorrow are looking forward to next week. It’s their opportunity. You have to follow through on that, and I have no intention of changing that plan.” This is a very tough test environment with supporters who can create bear-pit-like atmospheres inside stadiums. O’Sullivan says “hostile” is ok, acknowledging that when Ireland bring teams to Lansdowne Road and now Croke Park he “wants it to be hostile”.

“If you can absorb the passion and the intensity they bring to bear on the game, keep your discipline and then execute your game-plan, you can win the game.

It’s a good landscape to play test rugby if you want to get tested.

“And the question for us is can we deal with that without being intimidated. I think that’s an element of tomorrow’s game – there’s no doubt about that.”

It will be close, a one score game. It’ll be Argentina because they’ve Contepomi and a more abrasive pack.

Verdict: Argentina

Argentina: B Stortoni; T de Vedia, M Avramovic, H Senillosa, F Leonelli; F Contepomi (capt), N Vergallo; M Ayerza, A Verney Basualdo, S Gonzalez Bonorino; E Lozada, P Bouza; M Durand, J Fernandez Lobbe, JM Leguizamon.

Replacements: M Cortese, P Cardinali, J Stuart, G Fessia, L Lopez Fleming, J Fernandez Miranda, H Agulla.

Ireland: G Duffy; B Carney, A Trimble, K Lewis, T Bowe; P Wallace, I Boss; B Young, J Flannery, S Best (capt); T Hogan, M O’Kelly; N Best, K Glee