Sunday will be Ireland’s 16th meeting with Argentina but it is hard to place too much emphasis on what has gone before.
A possible quarter-final would have been on their minds when Joe Schmidt’s squad undertook their trip to the rugby backwaters of Argentina 16 months ago, but the value of that summer Tour will be in the experience gained by Ireland rather than any knowledge gleaned.
Facing Argentina in the last eight was already the aim by the time Ireland touched down in Resistencia in June 2014, but the Pumas they played in that two-Test series and the team they will play in Cardiff this weekend are very different animals.
Only three starters from Argentina’s opening game against Pool C top seeds New Zealand played in both Tests, in Resistencia and Tucuman, while one player – flying wing Santiago Cordero – started in one.
The three starters were full-back Joaquin Tuculet, fly-half Nicolas Sanchez and lock Tomas Lavanini.
Since that 26-16 defeat to the reigning champions, the Pumas have won their three subsequent fixtures by an aggregate 119 points, only Tonga putting up any resistence as Georgia and Namibia were torn apart by the free-scoring South Americans.
Argentina’s move away from its traditional scrum and maul-based game was hinted at during Ireland’s tour, with a young side gamely going down on both occasions after giving their more experienced visitors reason to be worried.
Tries from Chris Henry, Johnny Sexton and Andrew Trimble secured victory in the opening 29-17 win, while second half tries from Simon Zebo and Ian Madigan were needed as Ireland stuttered to a 23-17 win in Tucuman a week later.
However since then Argentina have two more Rugby Championship campaigns under their belt -recording their first win, over Australia in Mendoza last year, before claiming a first away scalp in Durban in August.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnVRmTrAn18
Winger Juan Imhoff scored a hat-trick in that historic 37-25 victory, the other dot-down from Marcelo Bosch supplemented by the kicking prowess of his current centre partner Juan Martin Hernandez – who was playing at fly-half against the Springboks.
Hernandez and his namesake, flanker Juan Martin Fernandez-Lobbe, are the only survivors from the last World Cup meeting between Ireland and Argentina in 2007, with Eoin Reddan and Rory Best the only Irish artifacts.
Both nations have progressed and developed in the intervening eight years but Argentina’s transformation since Daniel Hourcade took over as coach from Santiago Phelan in 2013 has been significant.
Competing in the Rugby Championship has had a massive effect and Argentina now play with a confidence characterised by rampaging wingers Imhoff and Cordero, second row Guido Petti Pagadizaval and the devastating back-row combination of Fernandez-Lobbe, Pablo Matera and Leonardo Senatore.
While Ireland have won a second Six Nations under Joe Schmidt since that two-game series, Argentina are unrecognisable from the young outfit that put it up to Ireland.
For their part Tommy Bowe, Dave Kearney, Paddy Jackson, Keith Earls, Luke Fitzgerald, Robbie Henshaw, Cian Healy, Tadhg Furlong, Mike McCarthy, Donnacha Ryan, Sean O’Brien and Jordi Murphy played no part in that series.
The likes of the under-utilised Rhys Ruddock and Henry may take the most from their involvement on the Pampas but there is no denying the challenge facing Ireland this Sunday is far removed from their experiences last summer.
