Argentina’s Gonzalo Bertranou: Ireland in Dublin is one of the biggest challenges in rugby
Scrum-half Gonzalo Bertranou has said Argentina will need to leave nothing up to chance if they are to overcome ‘a different beast’ in the form of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on Friday evening (kick-off 8.10pm).
At Stadio Friuli in Udine last Saturday, the Pumas registered seven tries on their way to defeating Italy 50-18 in the first of three international tests that the South American nation are set to play in November.
Following their showdown with the Irish three days from now, Argentina will also square off against France in Saint-Denis on November 22.
The Pumas have already defeated Les Bleus in 2024, while this year’s Rugby Championship also saw them claiming the scalps of New Zealand, Australia and world champions South Africa.
Securing a victory over Ireland in Dublin following a plethora of previous losses would be another significant milestone for Bertranou and his international colleagues, but he readily recognises how difficult a task this will be.
“The good thing is that we are all Argentinians, we know each other a lot. We have been playing together for a long time, but representing Argentina is different to any club.
“We know that we are going to face a different beast with Ireland because we never win against Ireland in Dublin,” Bertranou remarked from Argentina’s training base at Wanderers FC in Dublin earlier today.
“It’s the only team that we haven’t beaten in Europe at home, so we know what’s coming. We know that Ireland is, if not the best team in the world, in Dublin they are very, very, very good. So our details must be on spot on Friday night.
“Against Ireland in Dublin, it’s one of the biggest challenges that world rugby has right now, so we must be better in every single part of the game [than we were against Italy]. If we want to be competitive against Ireland we must be better in everything.”
Despite being listed as ‘unattached’ following spells in the United Rugby Championship with Welsh outfits Dragons and Cardiff – albeit he did state that he is currently with his hometown club of Los Tordos in Mendoza – Bertranou remains a key figure in this Argentinian side.
Since former Leinster out-half and assistant coach Felipe Contepomi assumed charge of the team in the wake of last year’s Rugby World Cup, Bertranou has started eight times and made one appearance off the bench across the 10 games Argentina have played under him.
The 30-year-old (whose father Miguel also represented the Pumas at international level) has certainly embraced the attacking brand of rugby Contepomi has been deploying over this period, but he also stressed the important role that defence has played in some of their more eye-catching victories this year.
“The attacking style of rugby? It’s good. It’s been years of trying to improve and trying to play good rugby, but defence is the thing that wins matches and wins tournaments. So first of all defence and after that playing rugby,” Bertranou added.
“We have a great coach with Phil. We have a great team of coaches with all the guys. They are doing a great, great job. We are focussing on every single detail. It’s been years of improving, so now we are very, very happy with Phil and all the things that we are learning from him.”