Ireland keen to prove a point against Pumas after All Blacks nightmare

Argentina rolling into Dublin this week hasn’t come fast enough for Ireland.

New Zealand breaching the fortress that was Aviva Stadium for 19 consecutive rugby tests and nearly four years — and the poor effort by Ireland to protect it — last Friday left a foul odour that Ireland is keen to wash off.

In a week in which someone asked winger Mack Hansen if their rivalry with the All Blacks was dead, the angst and hand-wringing comes to a head on Friday when Ireland hosts the Pumas in a game that suddenly sold out on Monday.

“You don’t become a bad side in one game,” Ireland coach Andy Farrell says. “Pressure’s good. It’s what concentrates the mind, you see where your character’s at. We want to win all our games but the opposition is always going to have a say in that. I think this is perfect because we’ve got a top-drawer opposition coming and we want to test ourselves because we feel like we let a few people down last week.”

The All Blacks were clinical, smart and defensively stout, and they were helped by Ireland’s poor discipline, shaky lineout, sloppy handling, breakdown issues, and zero impact off the bench. The home crowd was stunned, as was Farrell.

He thought his tried and trusted side was primed from its camp in Portugal. Ireland usually start autumns well; Japan was beaten 60-5 in 2021 and South Africa 19-16 in 2022.

But the possession-heavy Irish barely got any kind of flow, usually guaranteed from a core of Leinster players. They had 13 in the match 23 against New Zealand. Against Argentina, Farrell has gone for 15 Leinstermen, 11 in the XV.

He’s dropped midfielder Bundee Aki for Robbie Henshaw, and overhauled the reserves, dumping Conor Murray and Iain Henderson, and recalling Craig Casey and Ryan Baird. He’s also debuting Leinster tighthead prop Thomas Clarkson and flyhalf Sam Prendergast, whose been around the squad all year. In the under-20s last year, Prendergast led Ireland to a Six Nations Grand Slam and the World Cup final.

“He’s ready,” Farrell says. “In his own mind, he’d probably thought he’s been ready for quite some time because he’s that kind of kid, a confident kid.”

Healy equals ‘BoD’

It will also be a milestone game for prop Cian Healy, who will come off the bench for his 133rd test and equal the Irish caps record of former center Brian O’Driscoll. Healy debuted in 2009 and has said he’s playing his last season.

“I take pride in the durability and being able to show up,” Healy says. “That’s something I do hold myself to a bit, not missing training sessions and enjoying the hard work of week in and week out, year in and year out.”

O’Driscoll praised his former teammate.

“Playing 133 times, it’s one thing out at 13 and another thing in the front row,” he told the “Off the Ball” podcast. “It’s a brutal place for him to start at (age) 18, and (to) still be going at 37 is an incredible feat. No one likes to lose a record but it’s a hell of a lot easier to lose to someone like him: Very hard-working, incredibly humble guy, very likeable, great teammate.”

Pumas pumped up

Argentina’s sole Ireland-based player, Santiago Cordero, wasn’t picked in a tactical decision to debut Justo Piccardo, the 23-year-old center who made his professional debut this year for Los Pampas in Super Rugby Americas. Piccardo has “enormous potential,” Pumas coach Felipe Contepomi says.

The Pumas have a six-day turnaround after thrashing Italy 50-18 in Udine, and Contepomi has freshened the side with lock Guido Petti, flanker Pablo Matera, and inside center Matias Moroni, who have a combined 279 caps.

The Pumas have not beaten Ireland since the 2015 Rugby World Cup quarterfinals, and never beaten Ireland in 10 previous Dublin tests.

Contepomi spent a decade in Ireland as a player and backline coach for Leinster to 2022 — Ireland fullback Hugo Keenan praised him for his help — but he’s downplayed any insight into Ireland’s workings.

For a Pumas team which has beaten South Africa, New Zealand and Australia in the last three months, this Ireland game, he says, “is our opportunity to continue improving.”

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby