Veteran Marcos Ayerza will give no quarter in Sunday’s World Cup last eight clash but the Argentinian prop has much in common with his Irish opponents.
The 32-year-old — one of the few remaining players to have been part of the Pumas side that lit up the 2007 World Cup by reaching the semi-finals –has Irish roots and a love of horse racing, becoming very involved in the family stud farm and even calling one of his horses Welford Road after the home ground of his English club Leicester Tigers.
“Horses and horse racing, it’s huge in my family, it started from my grandfather,” said Ayerza, who has been a stalwart of the Tigers and Pumas scrums for nearly a decade.
“My father and myself have some horses back in Argentina in our farm over there, the stud and yes I do have a horse called Welford Road.”
Ayerza says he is very proud of his Irish roots and that it is natural he should have a love of horses given the tradition of the Irish and the four-legged animal.
“Of course I’m one-sixteenth Irish as well: my great-great grandfather was David O’Connor, who came from Ireland,” said Ayerza.
“There’s a big tradition of Irish people in Argentina. Horses are part of that too, and plenty of horses from Coolmore (the world’s leading thoroughbred breeding operation based in Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland) come over to Argentina for the season over there.
“Our links with Ireland are always very strong. We have similar ways of thinking and doing things.
“Playing against Ireland has great pride for my family. My grandmother, she passed away, but she was proud of me playing against Ireland — her grandfather was Irish and she loved the country.”
More improbable given his 115kg (18stone 2pounds) bulk is that he rides some of the horses and still plays polo, a sport in which the Argentinians have a long and proud tradition.
“When I have time in the off-season I try to ride still, back home, I used to ride a lot,” he said.
“I know I am definitely bigger than the average jockey but I love playing polo. In Argentina, people play polo just for fun, it’s good.”