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World Cup history may be in Los Pumas' favour but Irish hoodoo still haunts
By Frankie Deges reporting from Buenos Aires
As easy as it would be to use the parable of the return of the prodigal son, it is not so much for Felipe Contepomi.
In the Gospel of Luke, the parable tells the story of a son that asks his father for his inheritance and then squanders it, eventually returning home in poverty and sickness, to be embraced and accepted by his father.
Whilst Felipe, from a big Catholic family with an older brother who is a priest, is a prodigal son of Leinster, where he shone as a player and was later earmarked as head coach after two years as assistant coach, he returns successful.
The wealth of experience in his 10 years living in the fair city has allowed him to take the reigns of his country and lead them to new heights.
As kind as the city has been to him, it has always been a place where performance levels drop for Los Pumas, who have never been able to win in 11 previous visits.
Whilst a couple of the Argentina’s best-ever performances have been amongst the eight wins against the Irish – the mind goes back to Paris in 2007 and Cardiff in 2015 as well as the famous win in Lens in 1999, all in Rugby World Cups – the old Lansdowne Road, Croke Park and the Aviva Stadium have only brought deception.
When speaking of the strengths of Ireland, a team and many of its players Contepomi knows very well, he opens: “I won’t say anything new; it is the intense, dynamic style they try to play, their cohesion, with many players that play together all year for Leinster. Even if they don’t play the way Leinster does, there are similarities and that helps them.”
Whilst he added some of his DNA to the Leinster way, he also certainly got a true insight of what Irish rugby is all about. He downplays the influence.
“I can know the players, but it is our players that need to do their homework and know who they are playing against. I don’t know if it is an advantage. I try to transmit what I know about Irish culture, Irish rugby and about some of their players. At the end of the day, it is about individual and collective preparation that can make the difference.”
Three changes to the starting lineup include the return of Pablo Matera al flanker after a one-game suspension, lock Guido Petti, who has had an injury-ridden season, and Matías Moroni who will play at the unaccustomed inside centre position. They bring 279 caps of experience to the 694 of the starting XV.
In the backs, the return of Santiago Carreras will give the team options at various positions and Justo Piccardo, who can play at centro or wing, having played professional rugby with Super Rugby Americas team Pampas this year, is in line for test debut.
“Justo has made a lot of progress this year and has huge potential. The way we will play could be good for him. We are very happy and hopefully it will be a great experience for him.”
“We see the window as a whole not as three games; depending on how things evolve in training, how players compete and their form, we decide. We believe these are the best 23 players of the group of 32 players for this game.”
Argentina reaches Dublin in Contepomi’s first season as head coach. The team has beaten France, New Zealand, Australia (breaking records in both), South Africa and last Saturday against Italy 50-18.
Whilst there is a new-found confidence, for Argentina progress is seen “as being able to do on match day what we train. We evaluate ourselves different to the way people outside evaluate us; it is not about scores,” stresses 47-year-old Contepomi.
On Friday, “we have a slim opportunity, but every game starts with both teams on zero. We know what we are coming into.”
Back to the return to a place where he has lived a third of his adult life, two of his three children were born, he became a medical doctor and played some of his best rugby.
“It is great being back in a city and country I love. Fortunately, I’ve had a lot of phone calls and friends to see having lived here for ten years,” he says mentioning he has already caught up with Leo Cullen and has more to meet with before he leaves for Paris next Saturday.
“It is great to have these friendships as, at the end of the day, it is the most valuable thing rugby gives you. It has been great to be back, trying to find the time to catch up with many friends here. From a rugby side, it is another opportunity for this team to continue competing and growing and I don’t take it as what it offers me.”
“Argentina has the opportunity of playing against one of the top three teams in the world over the last six, seven years. It is about the pride of coming here to try to beat Ireland. It is a big, big challenge.”
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This is going to be an interesting matchup. If the Irish underestimate the Pumas they are going to lose. This Argentinian team is very dangerous. Do not think for a moment that if they are like 20 points behind, that you are going to win the game. They can haul that in very quickly. Big scores don't scare the Argentinians. Only the best will suffice against them
I rate Contemponi. This is the perfect gig for him to hone his craft. Can see him making waves somewhere else someday.