Irish eyes not smiling

There is something rotten in the state of Ireland. Eddie O'Sullivan has presided over a complete meltdown in his side's fortunes since the Six Nations. They have been awful in all departments in France. It is fair to say that the rot set in this summer when they lost to Argentina twice, and then followed up with a loss to Scotland and an unconvincing win against Italy.

It is almost a laughable notion that Ireland will have the nous to score the four tries they need to have a hope of qualifying for the knock-out stages. No team has crossed Argentina's tryline in their three matches so far, and the last time a team were so miserly in a World Cup, they went all the way.

Australia conceded just the single try when they were victorious the 1999 competition. Despite Argentina boasting some of the world's best players, pundits refuse to entertain the idea that they are serious challengers in this tournament.

Marcelo Loffreda has the luxury of being able to name his strongest side for the first time since their glorious 17-12 triumph in the opening fixture of the tournament against France. O'Sullivan on the other hand, has further fuelled speculation that all is not well within his squad by naming Geordan Murphy in the side for his first start of the competition. Now, there is nothing wrong with that, and personally, I think Murphy is one of O'Sullivan's best players. It is the manner in which the coach has gone about it, and what he has said, that has set tongues wagging.

And it is not the most difficult situation to consider either. Ireland struggled so badly against Georgia, stuttering to a 14-10 victory. It was a truly shambolic performance, and in beating Namibia 32-17, they gifted the Africans their smallest margin of defeat at any World Cup.

Like a child in a sweet shop, it is difficult to know the best way of siding with Loffreda's side. The handicap has moved by a full ten points since September 7 but I would still suggest a thumping bet on the Pumas on Paddy Power's three-point handicap. For those who want a bit more return for their investment though, I would consider backing Argentina to win by between 6-10 points and 11-15 points.

Verdict: Argentina by 6-10 points @ 6/1 (Ladbrokes); Argentina 11-15 points @ 12/1 (VCBet, Bet365)