Five Talking Points Ahead Of Ireland V Argentina

Argentina reached the last four in the 2007 World Cup, having beaten Ireland in the pool stage. But those statistics count for nothing on the day, Argentina coach Daniel Hourcade said.

“We have been in a bit of a bubble so we haven’t been burdened by it, or utilised it to further motivate ourselves”, he told a news conference on Friday. They look down Georgia 54-9, Tonga 45-16, and Namibia 64-19.

“We knew there were going to be injuries and now it’s up to the lads to step up”.

“I am really confident that that will be demonstrated on Sunday”.

“They have a great scrum”, Lobbe said in ideal English. “But if we lose the game against New Zealand we are out of the tournament, and what we are going to do tomorrow is the most important”.

Their provinces have scooped Pro 12 titles and European trophies like a child delving for the Pic “n” Mix, and when the big guns of the Southern Hemisphere visit Dublin each autumn, they now often leave empty-handed, as well as sore-headed.

“However it falls they all have to take the game by the scruff of the neck”. “They even got better when they came on”. The early sense is that there is a confidence among the Ireland supporters arriving into Cardiff and indeed this quarter-final oddly feels less pressurised than last weekend’s pool game against les Bleus.

The Puma hope the World Cup is not finished for Bosch, and that means winning at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday.

And while Ireland are without three key men in the pack, Argentina have also been forced down the depth chart in certain areas.

They were a team built less on a structure than a reliance on mayhem back then, embodied by that famous charge towards glory by Gordon Hamilton that sparked chaos inside Lansdowne Road.

“Football in Argentina is like that – we have the best players in Messi and Maradona – but four years ago Argentina didn’t play rugby like that”.

“The match took place at Parc des Princes, only a block away from where I lived”.

“I know Johnny is gutted but he’s been helping Mads out a lot and Mads has been knocking on the door, pushing Johnny at worldwide level”.

Though not calling the shots for the backline this week, the Toulon star poses a huge threat to Schmidt’s side.

What Ireland have gained is a more balanced second row with Iain Henderson and Devin Toner a classic complimentary pairing of bruiser and beanpole, and a few additional speed in the back row with Chris Henry and Jordi Murphy in the wing-forward positions.

Joe Schmidt, Ireland’s coach, is a big fan of the Argentina back three – full-back Joaquin Tuculet and wings Santiago Cordero and Juan Imhoff – and while Juan Martín Hernández and Nicolás Sánchez elegantly pull the strings in midfield, Ireland ignore the big men and their traditions at their peril.

Replacements: 16-Julian Montoya, 17-Lucas Noguera, 18-Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19-Matias Alemanno, 20-Facundo Isa, 21-Tomas Cubelli, 22-Jeronimo De La Fuente, 23-Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino.