Felipe Contepomi and Pumas have their own focus as all eyes train on Lions

GOOD IDEA: Head coach Felipe Contepomi, left, during an Argentina squad training session at Wanderers RFC in Dublin. Pic: Ray McManus/Sportsfile.

Felipe Contepomi has spent a decade of his 47 years here in Dublin with Leinster.

There were six seasons as a talismanic No.10 and another four as a back coach with the province. His words always carry extra weight around the Irish capital.

In town this week as head coach to an Argentina team that will face the British and Irish Lions in the Aviva Stadium on Friday night, he will know that the Pumas are little more than a bit-part player in a bigger picture that will be painted in Australia.

But this is the start of something big for them too.

Argentina won half of their six Rugby Championship games in 2024. They scored more points than anyone in history on Kiwi soil when beating the All Blacks. They hit the Aussies for 67. Of the major nations, Ireland are the only scalp to escape them lately.

Ireland are also the only one of the four home nations not sitting behind them in the world rankings, so there is an air of expectancy around the South Americans as they embark on what will be a long 13-game schedule across four continents in 2025.

They start off this week without a dozen players still involved in the Top 14, the likes of Santiago Chocobares and Juan Cruz Mallia who are playing with Toulouse, and Guido Petti of Bordeaux-Begles. A handful of others are on duty with clubs in the USA.

It all leaves them with eleven uncapped players this week, eight of them from the Super Rugby Americas league. Centre Justo Piccardo will make his debut in Ballsbridge and there are three potential debutants on the bench.

Argentina haven’t played in seven months but then this iteration of British and Irish Lions has never taken to the field together either and the suspicion is that Andy Farrell and his green-tinged operation will lean in on much of what we know from Ireland.

“Andy Farrell is a very experienced and very smart coach and I'm sure that he will analyse the sort of players he has and find the way to play how to beat Australia,” said Contepomi. “So they will be doing everything for how to beat Australia.

“So it could look something like [playing similarly to Ireland], but when you see the way that Scotland plays, it's not that very different. The way that Wales plays, when they just go and are on the front foot, you know, it's not different.

“England might have differences, but in the last two games of the Six Nations it looked more like an Irish team than the first three games of England. So I think they'll go and play hard and they have very good players. Definitely they will be a very strong team.” Contepomi cut a relaxed and, as always, friendly figure at the team’s hotel base on Wednesday. The sunshine is a welcome addition and his players have been thrilled and amazed by the fact that daytime stretches through to 10.30 at night.

Being here now is very different to a visit in November and some of the players have already spoken excitedly of the one-off chance of facing the famous tourists. It’s 20 years since their boss captained the Pumas last time, in a 25-25 draw in Cardiff.

For Contepomi, there will be plenty of reunions during their stay, one of them being with Johnny Sexton who is on Farrell’s Lions staff before assuming a similar role with Ireland come the start of next season.

The pair were teammates at Leinster before Sexton served under the older man when the latter was attack coach and Contepomi spoke here about how Sexton “needs” the full immersion in the coaching role to which he has now committed.

There was a prediction too that Sam Prendergast may yet find himself getting a late call to join the party Down Under and he had a word too for Leo Cullen, who attended their training on Tuesday, and Leinster’s URC title win after three disappointing seasons.

“Yeah, well, depending how you see the disappointment, you know? Playing finals every season is not… I don't see it as a disappointing season. Maybe it's a disappointing day when you lose a final, but the season, probably it's a good season.

“They were the best team throughout the season and they were the best team last year, but they didn't win it. So it's good always to have silverware. Some players who contributed a lot are leaving. It's very good for them to leave with a medal, for the academy players also.

“Yeah, I’m delighted for them.”