Ireland v Argentina: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Ireland lost their first home match for more than three years against New Zealand last week but there should be a reaction when they host Argentina on Friday night.

Ireland have lost only two of their last 10 meetings with Argentina, and although those defeats have both hurt as they led to their elimination from the 2007 and 2015 Rugby World Cups, the Irish look set to continue their dominance of this fixture when they clash in Dublin on Friday.

Argentina have won some big games this year but when they have lost it has tended to be convincingly and past autumn campaigns have seen them swing from strong performances to disappointing defeats.

Ireland v Argentina betting tips and predictions

Ireland to win by 11 to 20 points - 12/5

The last time these teams met in Dublin Ireland ran up a record 53-7 victory but that was three years ago and Los Pumas have shown that they are not a team to be taken lightly.

Already this year Argentina have beaten France, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia and their last autumn tour in 2022 included a victory over England at Twickenham.

However, although they have claimed those four big scalps in 2024, they have also lost to those same teams and in every case bar against Australia, the losing margin has been 15 points or more.

Argentina know they can win big games, but what they lack is the consistency to keep stringing together big performances.

That is what Ireland have been building towards in the last four years and although last week’s defeat to the All Blacks was another setback, they have shown before they can bounce back.

At the start of the Six Nations there were questions as to how the Irish would respond to their World Cup disappointment the previous autumn and they came out to blow away France in Marseille, while after a last-gasp defeat to England in that tournament they sealed the title with a dominant performance against Scotland next time out.

This may well be a tight contest for long spells as Ireland look for more discipline and aim to cut out the errors that cost them last week.

But Argentina are on a six-day turnaround including travelling from Italy and Ireland should be able to pull clear in the final quarter.

Caelan Doris anytime tryscorer - 11/4

Any contest with a physical Argentina pack usually involves some hefty forward exchanges and Ireland may well look to go direct rather than play an expansive game as they look to tighten up following last week’s defeat.

Flanker Josh van der Flier was Ireland’s tryscorer last week and he lines up again with Tadhg Beirne and Caelan Doris in the back row.

Number eight Doris has six Ireland tries to his name while Van der Flier and Beirne boast 11 each, but Doris bagged two for Ireland in the summer and has scored a try in each of his three matches for Leinster this season so he looks the form pick to get on the scoresheet again.

Tomas Albornoz anytime tryscorer - 7/2

This year has witnessed the emergence of Tomas Albornoz as Argentina’s first-choice fly-half and apart from his creative playmaking skills he has also shown an eye for the tryline.

Albornoz has started Los Pumas’ last four matches, taking over from Santiago Carreras, and has scored a try in his last three.

Scoring tries is clearly part of his armoury as last season he scored 10 in 20 starts for Benetton in the United Rugby Championship and European Challenge Cup and he has the flair to unlock a strong Irish defence.

Read more rugby union news on site.

Ireland v Argentina odds

Ireland - 1/5
Tie - 33/1
Argentina - 7/2

View the full market and more odds for Ireland v Argentina on site.

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.