Head-to-head: Creevy v Best

Pumas captain Agustin Creevy and Irish stalwart Rory Best both made their Test debut in 2005 and 10 years later they will play a central role in the World Cup quarterfinal in Cardiff.

Creevy's debut came against Japan playing on the flank, and although he has since reinvented himself as a hooker he is still a major threat at the breakdown.

Best started his international career against the All Blacks, following his brother Simon who played prop for Ireland, and the cattle farmer has developed a reputation as one of the strongest scrummaging hookers around. 

Both players are important leaders, with Best having captained Ireland before and Creevy given the Pumas reins in 2014 following a rift in the team that had developed between Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe and Patricio Albacete.

He has since led Argentina to groundbreaking victories against Australia and South Africa, and after some impressive performances in their pool he will be keen to add Ireland to that list of scalps.

The Irish have lost a host of senior players, which means that Best is going to have to lead from the front, especially at scrum-time which is a strength of his.

Former Springbok hooker Tiaan Liebenberg has plenty of respect for both players, but knows who he would pick if given the choice. 

"I think Creevy is quite a charismatic leader, he leads from the front and gets the guys going.

"A guy like Rory Best is a very good set-phase hooker, he is 33 and still playing very good, competitive rugby.

"But if I had to pick one to play in my team I would definitely go for Creevy," he said.

Although the two hookers appear to contrast in style, with Best very solid in the set-pieces and Creevy a menace around the park with his mobility and handling skills, Liebenberg feels that both players are able to adapt their game to what is required.

"I think you get two different types of fourth loose forward hookers, you get ones that carry the ball more and others that concentrate on the breakdown more.

"I don't think you can say that either player has a particular strength, they both do everything quite well and are able to adapt their game to the type of match.

"In certain games you can start running with the ball more, and in others you should be concentrating on the breakdown.

"I think both of them are good at summing the game up, you don't play for your country for 10 years if you are a palooka," he explained.

Best has shown that his is more than just a strong scrummager by getting through plenty of tackles, making his presence felt at the breakdown and finding his line-out jumpers with regularity.

Creevy may be mobile and dynamic with the handling skills of a loose forward, but he certainly does not lack for physicality and scores his fair share of maul tries as well as being key to the formidable Pumas scrum.

This all makes for what should be a classic showdown between two hookers at the top of their game in a World Cup knock-out game which looks like it could go either way.

So how do they shape up?

Here are some key statistics!

Agustin Creevy

Played 69 minutes in the 26-16 loss to New Zealand

Played 63 minutes in the 54-9 win against Georgia

Played 65 minutes in the 45-16 win against Tonga

Played 10 minutes in the 64-19 win against Namibia

Full name: Agustin Creevy

Date of birth: March 15, 1985

Place of birth: La Plata, Argentina

Height: 1.82m

Weight: 106kg

Rory Best

Played 60 minutes in the 50-7 win against Canada

Did not play in the 44-10 win against Romania

Played 70 minutes in the 16-9 win against Italy

Played 73 minutes in the 24-9 win against France

Full name: Rory David Best

Date of birth: August 15, 1982

Place of birth: Craigavon, Northern Ireland

Height: 1.8m

Weight: 110kg

By Michael de Vries