Argentina have beaten Ireland twice in three previous World Cup encounters.
Cardiff - As the jocular coach and captain departed the scene, they were replaced at the table by 33-year-old flanker Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe who was under no illusions about the strength of the Ireland pack.
Published: Sun 18 Oct 2015, 12:00 AM
Updated: Sun 18 Oct 2015, 12:06 PM
Argentina laughed and joked through their news conference on Friday ahead of the Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Ireland but that did not hide a steely determination to win. Coach Daniel Hourcade and captain Agustin Creevy were the picture of calm relaxation before outlining their respect for Ireland who they face on Sunday.
"They attack very well and they defend very well," Hourcade told reporters on Friday.
"They will play with heart like Argentina, we know the Irish passion. I don't want any surprises. We have a game plan," Hourcade said Argentina had the ultimate respect for a team he described as the best in Europe. "They have their weak points and we will try to exploit them," he said.
Argentina have beaten Ireland twice in three previous World Cup games but Hourcade said: "It doesn't matter to us what happened in history. The most important thing is what will happen on Sunday." Amid much mirth, Argentina captain Agustin Creevy assessed the strength of the Ireland scrum and dismissed the idea that it would be harder to play a northern hemisphere team.
"Every team plays in a different way," the hooker said. "The Irish team has many options with a very good scrum and line out. We must be very accurate to cause them problems." As the jocular coach and captain departed the scene, they were replaced at the table by 33-year-old flanker Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe who was under no illusions about the strength of the Ireland pack. "They have a great scrum," Lobbe said in perfect English. "We have analysed it. They get 95 per cent of clean ball, they don't give away penalties. They have a great lineout." Ireland will be without injured captain and lineout master Paul O'Connell.
Argentina's fly half Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias (C) attends a team training session at Vale resort, in Pontyclun on October 16, 2015 two days before their 2015 Rugby Union World Cup quarter final match against Ireland.AFP PHOTO / DAMIEN MEYERRESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE
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