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PARIS - Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll has stated the Irish are prepared to die in their World Cup Pool D match with Argentina here at Parc des Princes on Sunday.
Given the bad blood between the two sides, it may not be far from the truth.
Added to the highly-charged atmosphere is the fact that the Irish need to not only beat the Pumas but also score four tries and be over seven points ahead at the end to progress to the quarter-finals.
Their World Cup head-to-head reads 1-1 with the Argentinians winning the 1999 quarter-final play-off 28-24 while the Irish avenged that defeat in 2003 with a 16-15 win in the group stage.
"To eliminate Ireland would be perfect," said Argentine fullback Ignacio Corleto, who scored the one try in the stunning 17-12 victory over hosts France in the opening match.
"In 2003 I had my heart broken and there's still a little bit of a bitter taste."
Meanwhile, Argentina hooker Mario Ledesma has little time for Sunday's opponents.
"Not all the Irish players are classy on the pitch," said Ledesma.
"Ronan O'Gara winds people up. He hasn't stopped reminding us of the 2003 match."
The atmosphere ahead of Sunday's match has not been helped by Pumas scrum-half Agustin Pichot's outburst over that defeat in 2003.
He claimed it illustrated that the Irish were one of the IRB's favourites and that they weren't encumbered by a crammed fixture list at the World Cup like the so-called second tier nations.
The bad blood isn't all one-way.
In the 2004 Test, Ireland skipper O'Driscoll alleged to the referee the Argentinians were constantly poking players in the eye.
Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan, who has never been the closest of friends with Argentine counterpart Marcelo Loffreda, wanted citings.
They never materialised with the game only making relations worse.
"Rugby is an ethical sport and you can't keep asking the referee to hand out cards during 40 minutes," said Pichot.
"The Irish didn't give us any respect."
- AFP
