RUGBY/Tour of Argentina:For some, maybe it will be a penultimate opportunity, but the majority of the Irish team to play Argentina in the first Test in Sante Fe this Saturday will be supping from the last chance saloon.

Everyone of them, from the sole debutant Brian Carney to Ireland's most capped player of all time, Malcolm O'Kelly, has something to prove. World Cup places will be won and lost over the next two Saturdays in the land of the pampas and Los Pumas.

Rarely has Eddie O'Sullivan sent out such a curious-looking mixture of partially tried, discarded and untried along with those who have been tried and proven, but have to prove themselves all over again.

In the absence of players with 750 caps or so, and in the country that prides itself on having the best steaks on the planet, they are not lambs to the slaughter, but nor are they grizzled veterans.

Aside from the half dozen who were regular benchers this season and/or occasionally started games - captain Simon Best, Jerry Flannery, Neil Best, Isaac Boss, Paddy Wallace and Andrew Trimble - there are recalls for Keith Gleeson, O'Kelly and Tommy Bowe following lengthier exiles.

Then there are those with a smattering of caps to their names, mostly as replacements or on lower profile end-of-season tours, Gavin Duffy (back from the wilderness of the English second tier and the Harlequins bench), Kieran Lewis, Bryan Young, Trevor Hogan and Jamie Heaslip who, along with Carney, have 14 caps between them, albeit with a mere five starts and only one of them (Young in the Australian game last autumn) against front-line opposition.

Digging deeper, there are also three potential debutants on the bench, Tony Buckley, Tomás O'Leary and Barry Murphy. In an entirely home-based team, for the first time since the seasonal opener against South Africa, all bar Duffy come from three provinces. Hence there should be a degree of familiarity, especially given the presence of seven Ulstermen, featuring both half-backs and both props, as well as four of the back five in the pack coming from Leinster.

To further facilitate cohesion, O'Sullivan has sought to simplify things by "trying to put together a template for them to work in which is fairly straightforward. So we've kept things fairly simple, but it is a bit of a challenge, because a lot of the lads wouldn't have been on tour before. But they're all fired up and they've worked hard, so from that point of view it's been easy for the coaching staff."

Mindful of individual needs, the trick will be to play as a team in both games, though O'Sullivan welcomes the additional pressure being placed on them by the mix of performing away from home against a proud, highly-motivated home selection also vying for World Cup slots, along with the Irish players being on trial to a degree in this "hostile rugby environment. That's why it's called a Test and if you want to play in the World Cup, now is as good a time as any to find out."

Duffy owes his inclusion to his return to Connacht. "Gavin wasn't really making things happen for himself in Harlequins," observed O'Sullivan, and citing his versatility, added, "he's a very good all-round footballer, and he's played fullback, wing and centre.

"What impressed me was that we brought him on tour to South Africa in 2004 and he ended up being thrown in for the second Test in Cape Town and I thought he acquitted himself very, very well and showed he had the temperament at that level."

Carney, believes O'Sullivan, has begun making the transition from rugby league to union seamlessly. "He's a good professional and the thing in his favour is that he has played in the cauldron of international rugby, albeit in league rather than union. I'm reasonably confident he can make the transition, and he's a very skilful player and his temperament seems to be right."

Controlling things from outhalf in a relatively callow backline will be invaluable experience for Paddy Wallace, while O'Sullivan again played down the likelihood of Jeremy Staunton being added to the squad, suggesting that he was better served playing against the New Zealand Maoris in the Churchill Cup next Tuesday.

Most likely a fair few here are close to having one foot on the plane, but no one is exempt from scrutiny, and all have a point to prove, even the 83-times capped O'Kelly. "I've spoken to Malcolm and he needs to get back to a run of form."

A map of Argentina might convey the impression Sante Fe is just a short skip up the country, but the Irish squad will make their estimated six-hour trip by coach today through the pampas.

The Pumas, again bedevilled by internal strife, contractual disagreements and confusion over World Cup preparations, have been there since Monday and the Leicester-bound Marcelo Loffreda will confirm his starting line-up tomorrow.