KEY POINTS:
Geordan Murphy, the Leicester fullback rumoured to be walking out of the Ireland squad a week ago, has walked back into the side for their biggest match in four years.
Murphy will get his first start of this or indeed any other World Cup in the win-or-bust final pool match against Argentina in Paris on Monday.
A blow to the collarbone suffered by Girvan Dempsey against France last Saturday created the vacancy, but first Murphy had to leapfrog Gavin Duffy, the Connacht fullback who was on the bench for the comprehensive 25-3 defeat at Stade de France.
That setback left Ireland needing to win with at least four tries against Argentina across the city at Parc des Princes to qualify for the quarter-finals, while denying the Pumas a bonus point.
The presumption is that France will beat Georgia in Marseilles in a match which kicks off two hours before Ireland's.
It would appear a task made for Murphy's attacking talents, albeit they have been almost completely ignored in the tournament to date by coach Eddie O'Sullivan.
Murphy won his 50th cap in last month's warm-up match against Italy when the best and worst of his game was on show: the ball skills and intuitive support mixed with occasionally dozy defence.
"It was obviously disappointing not to be picked [so far]," said Murphy, whose contribution to this tournament has been coming on for half a minute as a replacement against Namibia.
"It is up to the individual to stay upbeat and I am very happy to be back and involved in such a huge game. It is very easy to sap energy from the squad if you are negative." He might consult on that very subject when he gets back to his club with the acting Leicester head coach, Richard Cockerill, once banished from the England squad by Clive Woodward with the stinging description "energy-sapper".
Felipe Contepomi, the Argentina centre who earns a living with Leinster, warned against a possible Irish resurgence.
"We always say that we prefer teams whose confidence is high, like France," Contepomi said.
But the Pumas, having beaten the hosts on day one, are laughing their way through the World Cup whereas Ireland have achieved the near-impossible by getting irate over having to reside in Bordeaux. Apparently the hotel could be in a nicer area.
The quibbles would have been quelled if Ireland had trounced Namibia and Georgia, and sneaked a win over France, none of which happened. Instead Ireland have scored seven tries in their three matches; half Argentina's total against the same opponents.
The official statistics noted just one Irish line break against France.
That is a frighteningly poor statistic with the likes of Gordon D'Arcy and captain Brian O'Driscoll in the team. The lineout also let Ireland down.
O'Driscoll said yesterday: "It would be a travesty to have worked as hard as we have over the last four years and not to put in a big performance this Sunday.
"First and foremost we have to think about our performance. Hopefully we can let that take care of whatever the score may be. If we can't, we will die trying."
So O'Sullivan, whose contract was extended until 2012 before the World Cup, has taken possibly his final punt of the tournament, though he had to delay confirmation of his starting and bench hookers with Jerry Flannery and Rory Best suffering slight knocks.
On the inclusion of Murphy and the recall of the 31-year-old wing Denis Hickie in place of Andrew Trimble, O'Driscoll said: "They provide us with more game-breakers. Denis brings raw speed while Geordan brings his ability to make something out of nothing."
Ireland have won three Triple Crowns in four years but they have never reached a World Cup semifinal. In 1995 and 2003 they lost quarter-finals tamely to France. In 1999 they were beaten in a playoff by Argentina, in France. Anyone know the Irish for deja vu?
- INDEPENDENT
