Ireland v Argentina - teams and prediction

PREVIEW: Ireland will be hoping to bounce back from a disappointing loss against New Zealand when Felipe Contepomi’s Los Pumas come to Dublin.

Ireland and Argentina have met 19 times at Test level, dating back to their first encounter in 1990.

Ireland hold the upper hand with 13 wins, including an unbeaten record in all 10 home games. Their latest home victory was a dominant 53-7 win over Los Pumas in the 2021 Nations Series. Yet Argentina have managed to make their mark, especially on the world stage, where they have claimed three out of their four World Cup clashes against Ireland.

The most recent came in the 2015 quarterfinal in Cardiff, where despite Ireland entering as favourites, the Los Pumas stormed to an early 17-0 lead and ultimately secured a commanding 43-20 victory.

Two members from that Cardiff showdown will feature in this clash, Robbie Henshaw and Cian Healy. Both remain pillars of Ireland’s line-up, while Santiago Cordero and Matias Alemanno continue to bring experience to Argentina’s squad.

“They have always been dangerous in recent years especially when you look a the history in World Cups,” Farrell said ahead of the fixture

“They have been consistent in one-off games in the last couple of years and it’s accredited to Filipe and his coaching staff.”

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Form check

Ireland will be keen to bounce back from a disappointing loss to New Zealand that ended their impressive 19-match home winning streak, a feeling they haven’t experienced since the 2021 Six Nations.

Ireland haven’t lost back-to-back Tests in Dublin since November 2013 (versus Australia and New Zealand) – a stat that Farrell’s men will be hoping not to repeat.

“Lessons learned from those defeats have been really good for us actually in our development,” Farrell said.

“It makes a loss that hurts a little bit easier to take. There’s a determination to make sure the same thing happens this week.”

Meanwhile, Argentina arrive with morale and spirits high after a thumping 50-18 victory over Italy in Udine where they ran in seven tries.

Argentina also had a successful 2024 Rugby Championship, securing wins over all competing teams and even challenging for the title before narrowly falling short to South Africa.

Contepomi’s homecoming

Argentina’s head coach needs no introduction to Irish rugby fans.

The former Pumas flyhalf, with over 80 caps and 651 points, was a Leinster favourite from 2003 to 2009. During his time there, he mentored a young Johnny Sexton.

Contepomi’s Leinster stint ended with a bittersweet farewell as a knee injury kept him out of Leinster’s European Cup victory in 2009, secured thanks to a clutch Sexton drop goal.

In 2018, Contepomi returned to Leinster as the backs coach under Leo Cullen before rejoining Argentina as an assistant to Michael Cheika. The Cheika-Contepomi partnership saw the Los Pumas reach an impressive fourth-place finish at the most recent World Cup, after which Contepomi took the helm as head coach.

Irish fans will also recall Contepomi’s role in the 2007 World Cup, where he scored 11 points to help Argentina eliminate Ireland at the pool stage, marking a historic first-round exit for the Irish.

As he returns to Ireland with the Los Pumas, Contepomi’s influence will certainly add another fascinating layer to this high-stakes clash in Dublin.

“It’s great,” he told the Irish Daily Mirror.

“It’s always good to be back. I love Dublin and Ireland. I’ve had time to catch up with a few old friends with the excitement of being here with my national team.”

Asked if he feels a sense of pride, bringing Argentina to Dublin on the back of what he achieved here, Contepomi responded: “It’s not about me bringing the national team here. We have the chance to play against one of the best teams in the last few years.

“Ireland has been consistently in the top three for the last six, seven years, so it’s a great opportunity. We are always very proud to try to beat Ireland, which we’ve never done here. It’s a great challenge but we always want to play against the best. That’s what we’re preparing for, to perform on Friday.”

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Players to watch:

For Ireland: Hugo Keenan, James Lowe and Mack Hansen start in an unchanged Ireland back three. The trio were the standouts during the defeat to All Blacks, and would want to put in a big show this week for the W. Robbie Henshaw – on his 75th appearance – joins Garry Ringrose in midfield, while Jamison Gibson-Park and Jack Crowley once again form the halfback pairing.In the pack, Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher and Finlay Bealham make up an unchanged starting front row.Joe McCarthy and James Ryan are in the engine room. Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier and captain Caelan Doris are the loose trio. They will have to be in fine form at the breakdown.

For Argentina: The only change in the backline ahead of the highly-anticipated clash against Ireland in Dublin sees Matias Moroni entrusted in the No.12 jumper, replacing Matias Orlando. The forward pack has two changes with one positional change. Loose forward Juan Martin Gonzalez shifts from blindside to openside flank with former captain Pablo Matera slotting back into the starting-lineup at No.6. In the pack stalwart Guido Petti gets the nod at No.4 lock replacing Franco Molina.

Prediction

@rugby365com: Ireland by five points

Teams: 

Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (captain), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Ronan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Ryan Baird, 20 Peter O’Mahony, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Sam Prendergast, 23 Jamie Osborne.

Argentina: 15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Matias Moroni, 11 Bautista Delguy, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya (captain), 1 Thomas Gallo.
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Ignacio Calles, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Santiago Grondona, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Santiago Carreras, 23 Justo Piccardo.

Date: Friday, November 15
Venue: Landsdowne Road, Dublin
Kick-off: 20.10 (20.10 GMT; 17.10 Argentina time)
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Craig Evans (Wales), Angus Mabey (New Zealand)
TMO: Richard Kelly (New Zealand)

Sources: Nations Cup and Irish Daily Mirror