Match Preview – Ireland vs Argentina

When it comes to Rugby World Cups the Ireland vs Argentina rivalry is among the biggest. In Rugby World Cups 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2015 they put on memorable matches with Los Pumas winning on three occasions.

Outside of World Cups the record is far more favorable to Ireland. As visitors to Ireland Los Pumas are yet to win. The Irish have won all eight matches played in the country. Overall there have been 21 matches between the countries. Ireland has won 12 games, Argentina 8 and there has been 1 draw.

The Daniel Hourcade regime has faced Ireland three times. The previous matches were in June 2014 and in Rugby World Cup 2015. In the first two matches Los Pumas were missing their European-based players. Ireland won 29-17 in Resistencia, and 23-17 in Tucumán. Argentina won 43-20 in Cardiff in 2015.

For the upcoming match Ireland Head Coach Joe Schmidt has handed a first cap to Adam Byrne. The 23-year-old Leinster flier starts on the right wing in what is an inexperienced wing combination with Jacob Stockdale. The Ulster winger debuted for Ireland against the USA this past June.

The mid-field is also fresh with kiwi-import Bundee Aki partnering Chris Farrell. Both players made their test debuts this month. There is more familiarity at the back with Rob Kearney set to resume his fullback rivalry with Joaquín Tuculet.

The same is true in the inside backs. The world-class combination of Conor Murray and Jonathan Sexton start for the men in green.

In the forwards regular captain Rory Best returns to start. He missed out on facing Fiji last week. Best will partner Cian Healy and Tadhg Furlong in a formidable front-row. James Ryan and Iain Henderson are to lock the scrum while arguably the best back-row in the world will start together in Peter O’Mahony, Sean O’Brien and CJ Stander.

Hourcade has made three changes from the team that won last weekend. Straight back into the starting line-up is Tomás Lezana. Having started at No 8 against England he flew home for family reasons, thus missing the match against Italy. This means veteran Juan Manuel Leguizamón drops to the bench while there is no room for either Benjamín Macome or Leonardo Senatore.

The two remaining alterations are both in the backline. Matías Moroni’s performance from the bench has seen him promoted ahead of Matías Orlando. The latter drops out altogether with Jerónimo de la Fuente preferred as the replacement option.

On the right wing Hourcade has reverted to Ramiro Moyano. He is back in place of Sebastián Cancelliere who impressed against Italy, scoring a try in what was his first test start.

2017 has brought vastly different fortunes for the two countries. Argentina’s two wins have come against Georgia and Italy while Ireland is the only team to have beaten England since Rugby World Cup 2015. Argentina enter the match very much as the underdogs.

IRELAND
15 Rob Kearney, 14 Adam Byrne, 13 Chris Farrell, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Sean O’Brien, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 James Ryan, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rory Best (capt.), 1 Cian Healy

Replacements: 16 James Tracy, 17 David Kilcoyne, 18 John Ryan, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Ian Keatley, 23 Andrew Conway

ARGENTINA
15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Ramiro Moyano, 13 Matías Moroni, 12 Santiago González Iglesias, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Tomás Lezana, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Matías Alemanno, 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Agustín Creevy (capt.), 1 Santiago García Botta

Replacements: 16 Julián Montoya, 17 Lucas Noguera Paz, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 23 Sebastián Cancelliere

Date: Saturday, November 25
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
Kickoff: 17:30 local (12:30 Eastern, 14:30 Argentina)
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (FFR)
Assistants: Marius Mitrea (FIR) & Mike Adamson (SRU)
TMO: David Grashoff (RFU)
Broadcasts: ESPN, RTE, Sky Sports