Physicality and forward power are what you think of when you mention Argentina but they’ve moved on from that according to many observers who’ve watched them win three out of their four pool matches in the at Rugby World Cup.
The Pumas stats so far make interesting reading. In the first game against the All Blacks which they lost 26-16, they off loaded six times compared to their opponents 20 while enjoying just four line breaks compared to New Zealand’s 12. As far the meat and potatoes of the scrum they won seven out of seven but didn’t force New Zealand into losing any other their own.
It’s hard to know what we can gather from the rest of their matches as they came up against tier two nations Georgia, Tonga and Namibia all of whom they overpowered, Argentina ended up with a points difference of just 16 less than pool toppers New Zealand.
Although they have far more losses than wins in the Rugby Championship since entering in 2012, the fact that they get to play the very best on a far more regular basis must be a help. This year saw them win in South Africa for the first time while last year they got within seven of Australia on the Gold Coast and beat them at home a week later.
This years victory in South Africa should have come as no surprise given last year they lost by only two points in a dramatic 33-31 defeat, having led by 12 points half way through the second half. That came just a year after they suffered a 73-13 defeat to the Springboks away although they lost by only five a week later.
They’ve only won twice and drawn once in the Championships since entering but they’ve regularly taken South Africa and Australia close although they have yet to beat or even scare New Zealand. In 2014 they earned three losing bonus points in the five games they lost which was one more than the year before when they lost all six of their matches.
Like most Irish fans we’re nervous about this one and while we were given some confidence by the panel of experts on last nights excellent Off the Ball at the 3Arena they all warned us to be cautious. Brian O'Driscoll, Felipe Contepomi, Keith Wood, Eddie O'Sullivan , Stephen Ferris and Tim Horan were among the guests.
Click below to get their predictions and also treat yourselves Tom Dunne’s version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice penned classic “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina”.
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