Simon Best: Pre-Match Quotes

Ireland prop Simon Best gives his opinion on Sunday’s must-win game against Argentina, the quality of the Pumas side and the mood in the Irish camp with their World Cup lives depending on next weekend’s result at the Parc des Princes.

ON SUNDAY’S GAME AGAINST ARGENTINA:

“It’s great to know we have an opportunity to get through and in terms of knowing what we need to achieve that. Every time we play Argentina, it’s physical, that’s the sort of game they want to play. We experienced that first hand in the summer. They have been pretty confident throughout the tournament, they had a great win first up (against France).

“But if we approach the game the way we want to then we will look to win the game first and pick up the tries we need along the way. That’s what we’re after.”

ON THE SUMMER TOUR AND ARGENTINE CONFIDENCE:

“The two teams that play this weekend will be very different from the ones that played in Argentina in May and June. It’s going to be very physical and it will be a big challenge to us and especially our defence to stop them and get them on the back foot.

“I think it (the Argentine confidence) is coming from the first game, they gained a lot of momentum from that win over France. But we see this is an opportunity for us.

“I don’t think they’ll be over-confident, no, they are a fairly confident bunch and they play that way because they have some world-class players. I can’t see that being the deciding factor in the game.

“A lot will come down to the way we play, how we perform. We know we can beat them but we can’t rely on them being over-confident.”

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FORWARDS BATTLE:

“It will be very important, that’s the traditional game the Argentinians play and they will look to dominate the scrum. We are no strangers to how they play.”

ON THE SPIRIT IN THE IRISH CAMP:

“The rumours have come as a surprise to us because we have been tight throughout. Whoever is playing gets the backing of whoever isn’t playing and vice-versa when opportunities come for guys. We’ve trained very well but unfortunately we just didn’t get what we needed at the weekend against France. But there is no disharmony.”