Donal Spring Rugby Analyst: On a tour of New Zealand some years ago I learnt a very useful lesson about team selection. The first position they fill on the team is openside wing forward.

Having picked their best number seven, they proceed to pick the rest of their team. They believe it is the most important position on the pitch and that the type of game you play is dictated by the player in that position.

Clearly, selection of Alan Quinlan there for tomorrow was done with a different approach. Eddie O'Sullivan seems to have looked at the opposition and let them dictate who he picks at number seven.

The decision to omit Keith Gleeson reminds me of the decision some years ago to drop Nigel Carr from the team to play France in a crucial Five Nations game. At the time, Carr was the most consistent performer in the pack. The reasons for dropping him were similar to those being given now, i.e., to counteract the opposition. The French had a big pack and in particular a tall back row. I don't believe the plan worked then and I don't think the selection is right now.

The decision indicates just how fearful the management is of the Argentinians. Although O'Sullivan was not involved in the defeat against them in Lens, the memory of that match has never faded. Ever since the draw was made for this World Cup we knew this was going to be the crucial game. Negative thoughts have come flooding back.

As coach, O'Sullivan has taken every opportunity to tell us he wants to play an expansive game. Even recently, he made it clear he did not want bad weather because this Irish team is different. He has now done a U-turn and picked a team to play Argentina which is designed to compete with them where the Argentinians will relish it most.

We should have had more faith in the type of game which we have played for the last few years and tried to move the Argentinian pack around the park as much as possible. If he had intended to use our backs as much as possible, it would have been essential to pick a fast openside, in this case Gleeson.

I wonder also if there is a feeling the Irish backs are not performing well. It has been difficult to assess them in the two games to date. They played in high winds against Romania and dreadful rain against Namibia. The feeling, however, seems to have been that they are not as fluid and co-ordinated as we would have hoped.

We all knew the loss of Geordan Murphy was going to affect the attacking potential of the back line, but the selection of the back row suggests the manager is worried about them at the moment. On a tour like this the manager will inevitably discuss team selection with his senior players, and I suspect, in particular, his captain, Keith Wood. I believe Wood has had a big influence in this selection and he probably encouraged the coach to go down this route. The Argentinian scrum has received a lot of publicity and Wood would be keen to make sure the Irish team does not go backwards.

This pack is probably the tallest and heaviest to play for Ireland. While size is an advantage it does come at a price: mobility. What really disappointed me about Lens four years ago was that, when the pressure was really on and we needed a score, our only solution was a 13-man lineout. We should have been far more inventive and imaginative, and we certainly should have had other options.

Now, when the big occasion presents itself again, it seems we are going back into the bunkers and relying on brute force rather than skill and imagination.

Of course, we should respect every opposition we play against, but we are in danger of paying Argentina too much respect by allowing them to dictate our selection and our tactics. They will not radically change their tactics because they are playing against us. They have a set pattern of play and they will stick to that with some small variation. They do it well and they have rehearsed it many times.

We have been trying to play a certain style of a game for the past number of teams which has served us well. We have run up big scores against the weak teams, which we were not in the habit of doing. We have also got good results against the middle of the table teams, such as Scotland and Wales, and while we have struggled against the top teams I believe we would struggle against them anyway regardless of the tactics we adopt.

What is even more worrying is Gleeson being left off the bench. What happens if it becomes clear by half-time that we need to change our game plan and start moving the ball wide? We do not have a genuine openside to introduce.

Before selection I was confident that, despite the game being close, we would win it. Now I am more concerned. I believe David Humphreys will be under instructions to kick most of the ball he receives and to play for lineout position. The intention appears to be to play the game up and down the touchlines, where we should at least be able to win our ball and probably put pressure on the Argentinians. We will probably try to avoid too many scrums.

The Argentinians were very disorganised in their lineouts in their opening game against Australia, but they will have tidied this up considerably. If they manage to win their lineout ball then we are going to have a great deal of difficulty.

The result could come down to a kicking competition between Humphreys and the Argentinian outhalf Gonzalo Quesada.

I'm relieved John Hayes and Reggie Corrigan are fit. There will be huge pressure on the front row and I am sure the Argentinians will target Wood to try to wear him down and make him less useful as a running option. It is a huge game for Wood.

I'm glad common sense won out in the case of Paul O'Connell. I was surprised by the views of some commentators here at home.

The Argentinians have been complaining about their tight schedule, and rightly so. However, despite their complaints they will have benefited more from having played against Australia recently than we have from the two worthless matches. For that reason it will probably take us longer to settle.

That this back row have not started an important game together before will not help matters either. Not only will the back row take time to adjust to each other, but the whole team will take time to adjust to them.

I hope we win because Irish rugby needs it. If we don't, this selection is going to be talked about for a long time.