Johnny Sexton says Ireland are braced for the “toughest game we’ve ever faced” ahead of a mouthwatering Rugby World Cup quarter-final against New Zealand in Paris.
The world’s top-ranked nation are seeking an 18th consecutive win to reach the last four of the tournament for the first time.
Captain Sexton has faced the formidable All Blacks many times across his distinguished career, including leading his country to an historic tour success last summer.
The 38-year-old, who will retire after the tournament, said: “I haven’t thought once about what personally the game means.
“It’s all about the team and progressing in the competition, that’s all we’re thinking about.
“I’ve had some great battles with New Zealand over the years with Ireland and the (British and Irish) Lions and what you learn is that every game is as tough as the last, no matter what the result.
“And that’s what we’re preparing for: the toughest game we’ve ever faced and we’re trying to put ourselves in the frame of mind that we’re going to be ready for it.”
Ireland have the upper hand in recent meetings with the three-time world champions, winning three of four during the Andy Farrell era and four of the last six.
Sexton believes his side have put themselves in position to go and win the World Cup – an achievement he feels would have been unthinkable during his childhood.
And the veteran fly-half does not feel unduly burdened by the importance of the occasion.
“Trying to win a World Cup, it’s something to go and get, it’s not something that puts pressure on me,” said Sexton.
“It’s something you dream of, probably not as a kid because when we were kids we didn’t dream of Ireland winning the World Cup.
“I suppose we’ve put ourselves in a position now to go and do that.
“But it’s something to go and get, it’s not something to be pressured about.
“It’s all geared up towards a massive game on Saturday, a massive challenge for this team, the biggest we’ve faced, and we’re looking forward to it.”
Ireland’s string of previous quarter-final failures is well documented.
Sexton, who is playing at his fourth World Cup, dismissed the significance of those past disappointments.
“We’ve worked on our mental game for the last four years,” he said.
“We’ve put ourselves in different scenarios over the last four years to prepare for this.
“But each quarter-final that we haven’t got through, or when we haven’t got through our pool, they’ve all been different and it’s a different group again.
“Each of those groups lost once, it wasn’t the same group losing quarter-finals year after year.
“If it was club rugby, it would probably be a bigger hurdle, but it’s a different group. I don’t think we’re carrying much baggage. It’s a one-off game and we’ve got to prepare for it now.”
Head coach Farrell has named an unchanged starting XV for the crunch clash in the French capital after securing top spot in Pool B with last weekend’s 36-14 success over Scotland.
Wing Mack Hansen sustained a calf issue in that match but, despite sitting out training on Tuesday and Wednesday, has been deemed ready to play.
Farrell insists the Australia-born Connacht wing is fully fit.
“He is, yeah,” said the Englishman.
“He obviously had a few things to do at the beginning of the week but he’s coming good and everyone is very confident that he’s going to be fine for the game – no problems.”
Injured lock James Ryan has dropped out of the matchday 23 but is expected to be available for the semi-final stage.
Test rookies Joe McCarthy and Jimmy O’Brien are among the replacements.
“James Ryan is out with a wrist injury that has been sorted,” said Farrell.
“We expect him to be fit for next week, if we’re able to get that far.”
Healy in line to equal Ireland cap record versus Argentina
Cian Healy is set to equal Brian O'Driscoll's Ireland cap record when they face New Zealand in Friday's autumn international in Dublin.
The 37-year-old prop has represented his country on 132 occasions and, after being named on the bench, will equal O'Driscoll's mark if introduced versus the Pumas.
Ireland suffered their first home defeat since 2021 last time out, going down by a 23-13 scoreline against New Zealand.
Despite that loss, head coach Andy Farrell has only made one change to Ireland's starting lineup, bringing Robbie Henshaw in at inside centre in place of Bundee Aki.
Argentina also named their team on Wednesday, with vice-captain Pablo Matera, Guido Petti and Matias Moroni replacing Santiago Grondona, Franco Molina and Matias Orlando.
Ireland team: Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe; Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher, Finlay Bealham; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.
Replacements: Rob Herring, Cian Healy, Thomas Clarkson, Ryan Baird, Peter O'Mahony, Craig Casey, Sam Prendergast, Jamie Osborne.
Argentina team: Juan Cruz Mallia; Rodrigo Isgro, Lucio Cinti, Matias Moroni, Bautista Delguy; Tomas Albornoz, Gonzalo Bertranou; Thomas Gallo, Julian Montoya, Joel Sclavi; Guido Petti, Pedro Rubiolo; Pablo Matera, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Joaquin Oviedo.
Replacements: Ignacio Ruiz, Ignacio Calles, Francisco Gomez Kodela, Franco Molina, Santiago Grondona, Gonzalo Garcia, Santiago Carreras, Justo Piccardo.
Pressure to win for England is a 'privilege', says Wigglesworth
Senior England coach Richard Wigglesworth believes that the pressure to win matches is part of the privilege of playing for the national team.
England face world champions South Africa at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday with displeasure growing after four straight defeats.
Included in that run were narrow losses in their first two Autumn Nations Series games against New Zealand and Australia.
Though England have won three of their last four games against South Africa at Allianz Stadium, Wigglesworth insisted everyone within the squad wants to improve.
"This job of being part of the England team is such a privilege, because so many people care, which makes your feeling on the matter really big," Wigglesworth told BBC Sport.
"Our job is to step back from that and see what was right, what was wrong, and what can we fix.
"We need to see the game for what it is, make the decisions for what they are, and get better every week.
"It is our job to make sure the players understand as much as they can that they can’t get affected by that as well.
"We know the attention the team gets is result-dependent, and rightly so."
The last time England and South Africa faced one another was in the Rugby World Cup semi-final in 2023, in which the Springboks came back from 15-6 down to win 16-15.
England will have to be wise to how the visitors have evolved since that game according to Wigglesworth.
"They have a squad and a plan they have done for a while, and when you are successful you tend to stick to things," he said.
"I have really enjoyed watching what they do, and how they do it. It is our job to meet that and rise to it."
Springboks aiming to have 'two best teams in the world', says Esterhuizen
South Africa centre Andre Esterhuizen said that the Springboks are aiming to have "the two best teams in the world" ahead of their Autumn Nations Series clash against England.
The world champions were pushed all the way by Scotland in their narrow victory at Murrayfield on Sunday, though head coach Rassie Erasmus opted to rotate some key starting positions.
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi and flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit started on the bench, with the changes a common theme during Erasmus' seven-year tenure.
Their opening Autumn Nations Series victory also put them back on top of the world rankings after Ireland's first defeat in 19 home games by New Zealand on Friday.
"One of the good things is that everyone is getting game time now," Esterhuizen told the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast.
"It is also about looking forward, you've got to be able to spare all the guys for the next World Cup and build experience into it.
"The aim is to have the two best teams in the world, all in one squad.
"We want to make it second nature for people slotting in, so if someone steps in, they can just slot in and play the same if not better than the other player."
South Africa next face England, who are yet to pick up a win this autumn, at Twickenham on Saturday.
Steve Borthwick's side suffered a narrow two-point defeat by New Zealand, before conceding an injury-time winning try to Australia on Saturday.
England have now lost each of their last four Test matches, their longest such run since losing five straight games in 2018, but Esterhuizen's former Harlequins team-mate Marcus Smith has been impressive for the Red Roses.
"It's a great space, I obviously love to play there," Esterhuizen added. "It will be great to be running at Marcus, not run off him.
"It's going to be a great match, England have played well in the last few games, it's unfortunate that it hasn't been the results that they want. I think it's going to be a big one."
The Springboks have won three of their last four matches against England (L1), including each of their last two. Three of the last five games between England and South Africa have been decided by single-point margins.
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