Ireland move up a gear

Fate does not always throw up the opportunity for redemption but Ireland get their chance when they take on Argentina in their World Cup pool match in Adelaide tomorrow.

Both coaches have been eager to play down talk of revenge from the occasion in 1999 when the Pumas sent Ireland home from Lens beaten and eliminated from the World Cup.

But for those following the teams, and for more than a few players, the memories remain stark.

Many of the men who played that day will be involved again on Sunday either from the start or off the bench, seven on the Irish side and 13 on the Argentinian.

The point-scorers from that day at the Stade Felix Bollaert are all back and the stakes are just as high, with the winner earning a place in the quarter-finals.

Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan has seen his team’s focus increase for this match after the early, easy wins over Romania and Namibia.

“There’s been a change of gear this week in training and there’s been a change in gear in their attitudes,” said O’Sullivan.

“Everyone is aware that the ante is up and the chips are down,” he said.

“It’s a big week and there’s been a response in training, where everyone is a bit more uptight and there’s a bit more tension.”

The battle for selection has been part of that and O’Sullivan’s main decisions were in the loose forwards and at fly-half.

David Humphreys won his battle with Ronan O’Gara for the number 10 jersey, while the loose forwards produced a surprise as Alan Quinlan was named to make a rare appearance at openside flanker, with Simon Easterby on the blindside and Victor Costello at number eight.

Argentina coach Marcelo Lofreda has had a difficult time building for the match, with his team’s win over Romania coming just five days before the clash with Ireland.

But he is unworried about O’Sullivan’s tactical decision to field his three most physical loose forwards.

“We looked at the Ireland game a long time ago and have thought about it a lot,” said Lofreda.

“We have picked the team that is best for this game and we don’t mind that Ireland have chosen certain players,” he said.

“Ireland have a good pack, but I think we have a good pack as well,” he said.

The Pumas’ back line is strong too and, while the forward battle has received most of the pre-match attention, the clash between two slick and pacey sets of backs should be entertaining.

“They have the most dangerous back three in the competition from broken play. They’ve scored quite a few tries this summer from deep positions with counter-attacks,” said O’Sullivan.

“They’re a very balanced team. Everyone does focus on their forward pack, but this is an Argentinian team that has got a lot of strings to its bow.”

One key part of that backline is scrum-half and captain Agustin Pichot, who has been selected despite missing Friday’s training because of a minor illness.

He will partner fly-half Gonzalo Quesada behind the Argentinian scrum in a combination which Lofreda has yet to use during the tournament so far.

The Pumas coach has juggled his team in the previous three matches to try and keep his players fresh. The result is that the halves, front row and loose forwards are all new combinations, but O’Sullivan is not expecting that to reduce their effectiveness.

“This summer they beat France twice and should have beaten South Africa in South Africa, so I’m not going to be conned into thinking they’re not going to put up a big game on Sunday,” he said, before laying out exactly what is at stake in the match.

“We know a good performance and a win on Sunday gets us to the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup and that would be a huge step forward for us,” he said.

“We stated from the get-go that was our aim in this competition.”

The match will be the sixth Test between the two sides, Ireland winning three and Argentina two of their previous encounters. The Irish have never beaten the Pumas away from Dublin. The referee for the match is South Africa’s Andre Watson.

Ireland:

G Dempsey; S Horgan, B O’Driscoll, K Maggs, D Hickie; D Humphreys, P Stringer; R Corrigan, K Wood, J Hayes, M O’Kelly, P O’Connell, S Easterby, A Quinlan, V Costello.

Replacements: S Byrne, M Horan, D O’Callaghan, E Miller, G Easterby, R O’Gara, J Kelly.

Argentina:

I Corleto; JM Nunez Piossek, J Orengo, F Contepomi, D Albanese; G Quesada, A Pichot; R Grau, F Mendez, M Reggiardo, I Fernandez Lobbe, R Alvarez, L Ostiglia, R Martin, G Longo.

Replacements: M Ledesma, M Scelzo, P Albacete, S Phelan, N Fernandez Miranda, M Gaitan, J Hernandez.