Ireland v Argentina Preview
Friday, 28 September 2007 17:15by Brendan Cole
Ireland are in a nosedive at the moment and it is highly unlikely they will pull out of it before or during this Sunday's clash at the Parc des Princes. In retrospect, the key barometer that might have told us the team would underperform so badly at RWC 2007 was probably the drop in Munster's level after the famous post Heineken Cup victory over Leicester; the day when it felt like Irish provincial rugby was poised to take a dominant position in Europe for the next decade or more.
Provincial domination might then, we thought, create a platform for the national side. Even after Munster, Leinster and Ulster went sour in Europe, it looked as though the national team had kicked on to a new level.
Instead it is Argentina who have taken the global game by storm at RWC 2007 and Leinster's Felipe Contepomi that has left provincial form behind on the international stage. In fact, along with Juan Martin Hernandez, he has perhaps been the most eye-catching individual player so far at this tournament.
Looking at Sunday's game it is Contepomi and Hernandez, along with Agustin Pichot at scrum-half, that present the greatest obstacle to Ireland achieving the miracle four-try victory that they need to progress to the quarter-final.
This trio are far superior to the French game-controlling unit of Elissalde, Michalak and Traille that Ireland struggled to contain at the Stade de France last week. Given that a far easier quarter-final awaits Argentina if they can win on Sunday, it is likely that their game patterns will be based around the safe - in terms of turnovers and intercepts - but penetrative running and short, angle-changing passing of the 10-12 duo. Ireland have to find a way to disrupt Hernandez, get Argentina on the back foot and force them to kick.
Aside from that, they face a major task up front, where the Argentina pack appears to have the strength and dynamism to not only strangle the Irish effort but to also mount a serious mauling and drive assault of their own. In both battles, the back five of the scrum is centrally important. Paul O'Connell and Donncha O'Callaghan must stop Argentina close in and in doing so free up the back row enough to allow them to pressurise Argentina's game breakers.
If a significant defensive advantage is gained, Ireland then need to turn pressure and possession into points. In this, the key men, meanwhile, are the the centres and, even more important of all, the fly-half.
Good possession will be scarce at the Parc des Princes and if Ireland are to have any chance at all Ronan O'Gara must do what he has looked incapable of managing all tournament long and use it efficiently. That means extracting maximum distance from his 'live' (non penalty) line kicking and placing the ball in front of Gordon D'Arcy and, in a game that he alone in the Irish side appears to have the power to dominate, Brian O'Driscoll.
As all the way through at RWC 2007, the gameplan is there for Ireland. The question is, can they find a way to shake off the mental issues that have dogged them from the off and execute.
Unfortunately for this sorry team, the latest blow to which is Simon Best's most unfortunate injury, and for the thousands of supporters that will make their way to Paris, all known form and every piece of rugby logic there is indicates that, for reasons that will dominate Irish rugby's coming winter of discontent, they can't, and they won't.
