NO ARGE FEELINGS
Revenge on Pumas not on Ireland radar
CJ STANDER insists Ireland’s players have moved on from their World Cup heartbreak at the hands of Argentina.
The sides meet for the first time since that fateful 2015 quarter-final encounter when Ireland, without a host of key men, made a nightmare start.
Despite a brave fightback, the loss of Johnny Sexton, Sean O’brien and Paul O’connell ultimately cost them a first semi-final appearance.
Stander was not part of the set-up that day, only bursting on to the international stage with a strong Six Nations the following spring.
But gauging the mood in camp this week, the Munster back row sees no remaining angst over what happened in Cardiff two years ago.
“I think only the supporters will really think that way,” said Stander. “We haven’t played them for the last two years and I think that we’ve moved on.
“We need to concentrate on them but it’s also about pushing on from South Africa where we had a good game. Our plan worked well, we controlled the game.”
Stander found himself on the bench for the first time against Fiji last Saturday but the 27-year-old enjoyed coming on when the game was in the balance.
He took over as skipper when he was introduced and immediately approached the referee. “I was excited,” Stander recalled. “When you get a call to go on it’s a massive honour. I just said to him, ‘I’m CJ Stander and I’m the captain now’.
“And I said about the breakdown, what I felt was going wrong. He said, ‘Perfect’ and we went on.
“I enjoyed it. It takes a bit longer for you to get into the game, to suss it out and see what’s the f low and what you need to do when you get on.
“But I will jump into any jersey where it’s needed. If it’s off the bench, if I need to make an impact then that’s my job.
“I ’ve learned in the last few months that you need to take your opportunities in this jersey and enjoy it, work hard for it and put a marker down.
“You can walk into camp thinking you are going to be in the team and suddenly you’re at the back of the bus and waiting for an opportunity again.”
That won’t be the case this week with Stander set to resume in the back row alongside O’brien and Peter O’mahony against the Pumas, who leapfrogged Fiji in the world rankings to ninth after beating Italy on Saturday.
“The rankings leave a lot to be desired,” Stander countered. “I haven’t looked at the rankings in a long while. Argentina have experience and continuity, they play in the Rugby Championship, playing huge Tests every year.
“When you play the big three, it gives you confidence and you can learn so much from those games.” BRILLIANT tries from Matias Moroni and Juan Imhoff saw the Pumas take a 17-0 lead over the under-strength Irish by the 13th minute.
Luke Fitzgerald’s score helped cut the margin to 20-10 by the break before a Jordi Murphy touchdown reduced the gap to three. But late tries from Joaquin Tuculet and Imhoff sealed a deserved Argentina win and Ireland’s promising World Cup hopes died.
Argentina 43 Ireland 20