Preview: Time is now for Ireland to begin RWC push

If there's a silver lining in what's been an up and down couple of years for this Irish team, it's that we haven't had to worry that they've peaked too soon.

At least we hope they haven't.

Andy Farrell and his fellow coaches aren't in denial about where this side currently are in the food chain.

Asked on Wednesday where they need to improve between now and the World Cup in Australia next year, the head coach's answer of "every area" was, in his own words, the "obvious and boring" answer.

By his own admission, the team couldn't go to a World Cup tomorrow morning with the 100% belief that they could win it, an honest assessment which speaks to the ground that has to be made on South Africa, France and New Zealand.

As other teams have shown in the past, there is plenty of time to turn things around, but without signs of clear progress this month, that timeline becomes tense.

With so much of the focus this week on where Ireland need to get better, very little media focus has been put on this week's opponents.

Argentina come to Dublin struggling for any consistency whatsoever. Twelve months ago, Felipe Contepomi's side looked like they were ready to take the step up to the next level after picking off Rugby Championship wins against New Zealand and Australia, before two very impressive wins against Wales and Scotland.

It's been a sticky season for Los Pumas though, who started the Nations Championship with a win against Wales, before two poor defeats to the Scots and English, and they come to Dublin with just one win from six games in this calendar year.

Judging them on results alone should come with a health warning. Their last three games – defeats to South Africa and Australia, and a draw with the Wallabies – were played without the vast majority of their frontline talent, most of whom are back in harness at the Aviva this evening.

Only four of this evening's starting team featured in the last three games, props Boris Wegner and Francisco Moreno, lock Guido Petti and number 8 Pablo Matera. None of the starting backline this evening have been involved since the summer.

As well as the addition of his frontline players, Contepomi has also been able to inject some fresh energy to the coaching ticket, with Shaun Edwards signing on to assist their defence until the end of the World Cup.

The 60-year-old, who helped France to three Six Nations titles between 2020 and 2026, linked up with the squad in Dublin this week.

"He'll certainly bring a bit of steel," Farrell said of his former Wigan team-mate.

"I don't know how he'll get on with the lingo, but he certainly managed that very well in France, very quickly. You saw the bounce that he got there.

"I've no doubt Shaun will make sure that he simplifies things early on so that they stand for something on Friday night.

"I suppose they won't quite know as players how he works and that puts a little bit of jeopardy in the back of their minds. They want to impress him. He's that type of character anyway."

While so much of the conversation around this game and campaign has been geared towards the World Cup, it's gone under the radar that these sides could potentially be on a collision course for another quarter-final meeting in Australia next year.

Ireland have never lost to the Pumas in 11 games on home soil, but they have been haunted by them at the World Cup, beaten in 1999, 2007 and 2015, which has led to some spicy encounters over the years.

The immediate focus for Ireland is picking up wins and performances against Argentina, Fiji and South Africa in the next three weekends, which they hope will be enough to get them into the final of the inaugural Nations Championship at Twickenham at the end of the month.

When Ireland were last seen, Farrell's side were uncharacteristically sloppy and disorganised as they fell to a 40-21 defeat to New Zealand in Auckland, and they come into this campaign with work to do across almost every aspect of their game.

Last week, Johnny Sexton said their ability to be the fittest team in the world is the key to getting back to the levels of 2023, where their ability to wear teams down with a high-speed, multi-phase game had them ranked as the best on the planet leading into the World Cup.

They come into this window without some key players. Captain Caelan Doris remains sidelined with foot and knee issues, while Jack Conan is also out with a shoulder injury, and Jack Crowley and Garry Ringrose are among the other first team regulars watching on from the sidelines this month.

Those absences have been offset by several regulars returning from injury; Andrew Porter, Mack Hansen and Ryan Baird are all back in the team after missing both the Six Nations and summer Nations Championship games, and they are among seven changes to the side that started the defeat to the All Blacks in July.

Farrell may have some long-term concerns about the middling form of the Irish provinces, but many of his frontline internationals have impressed in the opening block of games.

Sam Prendergast looks a far more confident player than he did 12 months ago, and while there are still doubts around his defensive work, it's an area that is showing progress. Ciarán Frawley supplements Prendergast on the bench this evening, after some outstanding performances since his move to Connacht.

Farrell's selections this week are also more forward thinking, as he gives Craig Casey (above) an opportunity to start a big Test at scrum-half ahead of Jamison Gibson-Park, while Nick Timoney is preferred to Josh van der Flier at blindside flanker.

"We know that this is going to be an unbelievably tough start to an international season, but so is the week after, and so is the week after, and so is the week after that," Farrell added.

"It's something that we're mindful of because that's the way of the world. In the Six Nations now with the one fallow week, that's even more taxing, but that gets everyone ready really for what's coming in 12 months with no break in the World Cup and right the way throughout."

Two years ago, Ireland were left to cling on for a narrow 22-19 win in this fixture, having been 22-9 ahead in the first half, while Argentina's ability to break a game open with running rugby from deep came into sharp focus when they pulled off a stunning win against Farrell's British and Irish Lions at the Aviva just over a year ago.

The warning signs are there for Ireland, who must start as they mean to go on this month, and for the next 12 months ahead.

Verdict: Ireland by nine

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Ireland: Hugo Keenan; Robert Baloucoune, Rob Henshaw, Stuart McCloskey, Mack Hansen; Sam Prendergast, Craig Casey; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan (capt), Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, Tadhg Beirne; Ryan Baird, Nick Timoney, Sean Jansen.

Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Tom O'Toole, Sam Illo, James Ryan, Josh van der Flier, Jamison Gibson-Park, Ciaran Frawley, Bundee Aki.

Argentina: Juan Cruz Mallia; Bautista Delguy, Justo Piccardo, Santiago Chocobares, Mateo Carreras; Tomas Albornoz, Gonzalo Garcia; Boris Wenger, Julian Montoya (capt), Franciso Moreno; Guido Petti, Pedro Rubiolo; Juan Martin Gonzalez, Marcos Kremer, Pablo Matera.

Replacements: Leonel Oviedo, Mayco Vivas, Joel Sclavi, Efrain Elias, Juan Martin Seelzo, Simon Belitez Cruz, Geronimo Prisciantelli, Lucio Cinti.

Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)

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