Pool A For many of the Irish players this will be their last World Cup, and by extension their last World Cup venture together.

It's true of any team, of course, but more so for Argentina. For the greatest Pumas to ever come out of Argentina, and perhaps the best team ever to emerge from outside the world's established elite of eight, tomorrow in the Adelaide Oval is the point of no return.

Their coach, Marcelo Loffreda, last night admitted this was undoubtedly a factor in the mental preparation of his team, though he seemed to imply that keeping a lid on excessive emotion was one of his biggest challenges.

"Yes, it is a highly motivational factor for the players. The fact that this is the last World Cup for some of the players will be a motivation for those players but we have to look at this game coldly, and think clearly.

"We cannot let this source of motivation complicate our decision making. Sometimes you have too much motivation and you don't think clearly. We have to be careful of that."

Loffreda is an intense 44-year-old whose nickname El Tano, roughly meaning tough guy, dates back to his illustrious 78-cap career between 1978 and 1994, and predictably, he has plumped for pretty much his most experienced line-up.

He has put together his three grizzliest bears in an all-thirtysomething front-row. Roberto Grau has been surprisingly chosen ahead of Omar Hasan (not even in the 22) at loosehead, thereby obliging the long-haired Mauricio Reggiardo to switch to tighthead, the position he played in Lens but is far less familiar to him now.

Identifying the lineout as a key area, Loffreda has reverted to the abrasive Perpignan lock Rimas Alvarez over the younger pretender Patricio Albacete.

"Ireland has a very strong lineout, so we picked a team that can be proficient in the lineouts because it is one of their big weapons."

Not surprisingly, the greater mobility of Lucas Ostiglia has been accommodated in the backrow alongside Gonzalo Longo, the brains of the pack, and the 35-year-old Rolando Martin, who will win his 86th cap.

Inspirational captain and scrumhalf Agustin Pichot, who missed training on Thursday, was yesterday passed fit to play.

The return of Quesada means that Felipe Contepomi reverts to midfield, where he partners the unexceptional Jose Orengo, and so the future stars of Los Pumas, 25-year-old centre Martin Gaitan, and the brilliant 21-year-old Juan Hernandez are amongst the replacements. It is a helluva bench.

There remains a palpable sense of bitterness over their raw deal in terms of scheduling, and Loffreda had apologised for his late arrival on account of their need to train for one hour and 40 minutes last night, "because we have had very little time to prepare for this game."

But you know, that as well as all the other baggage that goes into this game, they will have used their sense of being wronged as an additional motivational tool.

For the most part Loffreda spoke in Spanish through an interpreter, but occasionally lapsed into considered English.

"We are very confident in this team and the team itself is confident.

"All the 30 players have answered our requirements in a very positive way and we think that on Sunday this team will be a very strong team and will play a great game." No doubt they will.