Ireland vs Argentina - Nations Championship - Match Preview

By ethanjbradley · Aviva Stadium, Dublin

Ireland host Argentina in Dublin on Friday night, 6th November, in round 4 of the Nations Championship. Both teams are currently 4th in their respective hemisphere tables, with Ireland on 10 points and Argentina on 7 points. Argentina will be looking for their first ever away win in Dublin against Ireland and will be fired up after defeating the British & Irish Lions in the Lions tour warm-up fixture at the same venue in 2025.

Argentina have picked a very experienced starting 15 with 3 centurions in the pack and an exciting backline. 12 of the 23 played in the 24-28 win against the British & Irish Lions in 2025. Argentina are missing their mercurial outhalf Santiago Carreras and prop Thomas Gallo for the fixture. Juan Cruz Mallía of Toulouse returns at fullback after a lengthy injury spell which will be a massive boost for Contepomi.

Ireland have a mix of perceived freshness within their squad, with prop Sam Illo coming off the bench to win his second cap. It will be a big game for Sean Jansen who is looking to impress at number 8 with Caelan Doris out injured. A return to the wing for Mack Hansen will have fans excited as it will be his first time wearing the Ireland shirt since the 13-24 loss to South Africa where he played fullback that day. It is almost a year since he scored a hat trick of tries vs Australia.

The game will kick off at 8:10pm and conditions are set to be cool & cloudy with the temperature to be around 10° and barely a breeze in the air. Luke Pearce will referee the match. The head-to-head of this fixture sees the victor win on average by 12 points with the most recent battle between the teams resulting in a 22-19 win for Ireland in 2024.

Ireland (starting 15 caps total = 606):
1. Andrew Porter (Leinster) - 79 caps
2. Dan Sheehan (C) (Leinster) - 41 caps
3. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster) - 88 caps
4. Joe McCarthy (Leinster) - 26 caps
5. Tadhg Beirne (Munster) - 73 caps
6. Ryan Baird (Leinster) - 33 caps
7. Nick Timoney (Ulster) - 14 caps
8. Sean Jansen (Connacht) - 2 caps
9. Craig Casey (Munster) - 30 caps
10. Sam Prendergast (Leinster) - 17 caps
11. Mack Hansen (Connacht) - 30 caps
12. Stuart McCloskey (Ulster) - 31 caps
13. Robbie Henshaw (Leinster) - 85 caps
14. Robert Baloucoune (Ulster) - 9 caps
15. Hugo Keenan (Leinster) - 48 caps

Subs (caps total = 380): 16. Rónan Kelleher (51 caps); 17. Tom O'Toole (24 caps); 18. Sam Illo (1 cap); 19. James Ryan (83 caps); 20. Josh van der Flier (81 caps); 21. Jamison Gibson-Park (53 caps); 22. Ciaran Frawley (15 caps); 23. Bundee Aki (72 caps)

Argentina (starting 15 caps total = 750):
1. Boris Wenger (Harlequins) - 11 caps
2. Julián Montoya (C) (Pau) - 120 caps
3. Francisco Moreno (Newcastle Red Bulls) - 3 caps
4. Guido Petti (Harlequins) - 104 caps
5. Pedro Rubiolo (Bristol Bears) - 31 caps
6. Juan Martín Gonzalez (Saracens) - 51 caps
7. Marcos Kremer (Clermont Auvergne) - 83 caps
8. Pablo Matera (Tochigi Honda Heat) - 127 caps
9. Ganzalo García (Pau) - 19 caps
10. Tomás Albornoz (Toulon) - 24 caps
11. Mateo Carreras (Bayonne) - 36 caps
12. Santiago Chocobares (Toulouse) - 35 caps
13. Justo Piccardo (Montpellier) - 13 caps
14. Bautista Delguy (Clermont Auvergne) - 42 caps
15. Juan Cruz Mallía (Toulouse) - 51 caps

Subs (caps total = 153): 16. Leonel Oviedo (3 caps); 17. Mayco Vivas (44 caps); 18. Joel Sclavi (32 caps); 19. Efraín Elías (6 caps); 20. Juan Martín Scelzo (2 caps); 21. Simón Benítez Cruz (15 caps); 22. Gerónimo Prisciantelli (6 caps); 23. Lucio Cinti (45 caps)

Referee: Luke Pearce