Murphy curses wintry conditions

Geordan Murphy is braced for a snow-covered aerial bombardment when Ireland meet Argentina in Dublin tomorrow.

Treacherous conditions are expected, with the Aviva Stadium pitch covered by snow for this morning’s captain’s run while showers of rain and sleet are also forecast to hit the Irish capital.

The inclement weather is certain to increase the Pumas’ reliance on the up-and-under, which is traditionally a key weapon in their arsenal.

As full-back, Murphy will be the foil to Felipe Contepomi’s boot and the Leicester captain is ready for the barrage.

“It’s sod’s law about the weather. Most players like the open spaces and don’t like playing in snow or the wet,” he said.

“But we must face whatever conditions are there. If it’s wet and cold I’m sure it will affect the way the match is played.

“It will probably be tighter with more kicking. I was expecting high balls anyway, but I’m sure there will be a few more now.

“They could quite literally put snow on the ball tomorrow!”

The conditions will cause plenty of anguish among the Ireland squad, whose ambition of developing a dynamic running game this autumn have been thwarted by the weather.

Rain turned the defeat by South Africa and victory over Samoa into trench warfare and it was only against New Zealand that they were able to express themselves.

Even in the dry Argentina would be an arm wrestle, but now Ireland must end their autumn the way they started it – with a battle of attrition.

Victory is imperative and anything less would leave them with a 25% record from the four-match series, a dismal return for a team of such ambition.

Argentina, placed one position lower in the world rankings in eighth, will provide formidable opposition with their pack full of grizzled veterans.

Directing operations will be Contepomi, the brilliant if temperamental former Leinster and Bristol fly-half who is also the tourists’ captain.

“I’ve faced Felipe quite a few times because he also played in England,” said Murphy.

“He’s a quality player and is such a threat offensively and defensively. He’s always sniffing around for an intercept.

“He can throw a long pass, throw a short pass, take it to the line or make breaks.

“I don’t know if you can get to him because of his Latin temperament. You could probably say you can get to any player.

“Fly-half is a very difficult position. Sometimes everything can go your way and sometimes things go against you. That can make the difference of the game.

“It’s not a tactic of ours to go after him because he’s a top player and if things go his way, he will make our lives difficult.”

Ireland’s inexperienced front row of Cian Healy, Sean Cronin and Tony Buckley will be tested by the Pumas scrum, but the rest of the home pack is full of familiar faces.

The performance of new-look half-back pairing Peter Stringer and Jonathan Sexton will be watched closely, with the duo having shown promise in the last 15 minutes against New Zealand.

“They did very well against the All Blacks and will be looking forward to starting together,” said Murphy.

“They’re at opposite ends of the spectrum. Stringer is on 94 caps and Jonathan is on 10.

“Jonathan has been playing some fantastic rugby and has done very well. Having Stringer to give him a hand will be very good for us.”

Murphy will be making his first appearance of the autumn after profiting from the knee injury sustained by Rob Kearney against New Zealand.

It will be the 32-year-old’s 69th Test appearance and his first since winning two caps as a substitute on the summer tour Down Under.

Though delighted to be involved, Murphy will be privately cursing his luck that his recall coincides with inhospitable conditions ill-suited to his counter-attacking game.

“I haven’t been involved over the last few weeks so it’s a huge honour to be back in a green shirt,” he said.