THE MICROWAVE ANALYSIS of Argentina down the years was that if you got the measure of the pack, the battle was as good as done.
If you could shut down the front eight, the points, it seemed, would follow.
But in this year’s Rugby Championship, and the pool stages of the World Cup, we’ve seen a very different Pumas side. Lightning counter attacks, getting the ball to the wider channels and forwards offloading, the new ethos of Argentina Rugby is not one we were familiar with.
Young forwards like Tomás Lavanini, Guido Petti Pagadizábal and Pablo Matero look as strong as any they’ve produced, but they know how to handle a rugby ball.
In the backline, Santiago Cordero has been lethal out wide, while the likes of Nicolas Sanchez and Juan Imhoff are still just in their mid-20s.
There are a few of the 2007 World Cup semi-finalists still there to guide the next generation, but Pumas and Leinster legend Felipe Contepomi says that the groundwork for the future leaders of the squad was started six years ago.
“It’s changed a lot. And it’s changed because of multiple reasons.
“Firstly, since 2009 we created Academies, the centre of formation, there are nine throughout the country. You start coaching players at 16 and 17-years-old, giving them a good support fitness-wise and and good support of skills, and then once you arrive to international level, they have those skills to play a wider, expansive game.”
On top of the increased emphasis on production, competition has also improved. For the last four years they have been able to test themselves on a regular basis against the best sides in the world in the Rugby Championship, and with an Argentinian Super Rugby franchise soon to follow, the future is potentially getting even brighter.
Speaking in Dublin on Wednesday, Contepomi says their improvement in 2015 can be the start of something greater.
“The other major thing is the competition. Once Argentina arrived into the Rugby Championship they have two games every year against Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and that can only make you better.
“We learned a lot playing against them, and now we are making it happen on the pitch.
“You need development, and then you need competition. We started with development, and then we had the competition for the national team, and now we will have the competition for 30-plus players in Super Rugby,” he says.
They might not be traditional rivals, but because of their World Cup battles in three of the previous four tournaments, there’s always a lot of tension in the build-up to meetings between Ireland and the Pumas.
In between knocking Ireland out of the 1999 and 2007 editions, Contepomi was also on the pitch for Ireland’s revenge against the Pumas in 2003 in the Adelaide Oval.
And much like how styles make fights, he says that the similarities between the sides play a big part in the physical, attritional games we tend to see against Argentina.
“The rivalry comes because they are very similar in terms of passion. They are two countries that are very passionate about their jerseys. That brings on a real battle. I don’t know if there are two countries that play each other with as much passion as Ireland and Argentina.
“When you have Ireland-Argentina playing it’s not about rivalry, it’s about having two countries that don’t give up until the last minute. Maybe history will be history for these guys playing on Sunday, one or two may have been there in 07, but they weren’t there in 03 and 99.
“The only difference is the price, what’s at stake. You have to be lucky to play in a World Cup, and even if you play for Ireland in the Six Nations or us in the Championship, nothing compares to a World Cup.”
Despite the talent that will walk out into the Millennium Stadium this Sunday, the build-up has naturally been dominated by those who won’t be able to take part.
Having endured several titanic battles against Paul O’Connell in both his Argentina and Leinster careers, Contepomi says his presence will be badly missed this weekend.
“His biggest asset was his mental strength. Not only did he have the skills for the second row, he was great in the lineout, great in the pack and the scrum. He had all of what a second row had to have, but I think he had a capacity to get the most out of the people around him, which was his biggest asset.
“When he was on the pitch it meant something, for Munster people, for the Irish team. That’s his aura. He had an aura that not many other players had.
“When you saw him play for Munster or Ireland, you could say that guy has something different.”
But while he says Ireland are losing a leader, he maintains that Iain Henderson’s performance against France reinforces the strength of Ireland’s 31-man squad.
“It can work both ways. In terms of quality, Henderson has come in and did his job quite well, and he’s up for the job. In terms of leadership it’s a huge loss, but also it could inspire them.”
Two former teammates of Contepomi will also miss out this weekend, with Sean O’Brien and Marcelo Bosch both suspended for a week.
With both players being key for their countries during the last four years, Contepomi says it’s hard to know which side will suffer most as a result, but he says while it’s unfortunate that one of those players won’t feature again in the tournament, he can’t argue with their suspensions.
“It’s a blow for both sides, I don’t know who will feel it more. For us, Bosch is an experienced guy, he defends well, and he’s been playing there for the last four years, and must be one of the most capped players there.
“Seanie, what else can you say about him? He was Man-of-the-Match against France. He’s one of those players who if you’re an opposition 10, you don’t want to have Seanie O’Brien running at you.
“He’s a good ball carrier, he makes every ruck difficult for the opposition, he’s a hard worker. But foul play has to be penalised and players need to understand that while it’s a contact sport we need to keep it as clean as possible.”
He makes no attempt to hide his Argentinian allegiances this weekend, but jokes that regardless of the result he’ll have a country to support in the semi-finals.
The game itself, he says, could come down to simple psychology. Both sides have a record to amend. Argentina haven’t beaten Ireland since that Pool D win eight years ago. Ireland, on the other hand, are at their traditional quarter-final stumbling block.
One of those records, he says, has to give.
“My heart is 100 percent for Argentina. My mind, my head, is 50/50.
“You ask me All Blacks or France, I’ll tell you to put all your money on the All Blacks. This one though, I can’t predict.
“Maybe Ireland has an advantage with more experience, and this Argentina team have never beaten this Ireland team. Not since 2007.
“On the other hand, Ireland have never got through to the semi-finals, and that can also play a psychological part.”
Felipe Contepomi was in Dublin ahead of the Newstalk Off The Ball Roadshow in partnership with Heineken at 3Arena on Wednesday, October 14th. Thanks to Heineken, official sponsor of Rugby World Cup 2015. Visit Heineken.ie.
