Argentina fly-half Felipe Contempomi talks to The Telegraph ahead of his side's clash with Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.

"Felipe Contepomi is a qualified, practising doctor so he ought not to put too much faith in the power of miracles over sober realities.

"But the much-travelled Argentina captain and fly-half is all too aware that leaps of faith have helped propel the Pumas to the highest echelons of the game and that they will require such reserves of belief if they are not only to trouble Wales at the Millennium Stadium today but, more importantly, England in the first Pool B game of the Rugby World Cup in three weeks time."

Gordon D'Arcy says hello to Martin Scelzo © PA Photos

Vincent Hogan reviews the cooling of hostilities between Ireland and Argentina following a lukewarm Lansdowne Road showdown in The Irish Independent.

"Mario Ledesma looked like just another eccentric, elderly relative, mumbling banal courtesies as he hurried from the cold, a heavy, beige rug pulled across his shoulders.

"At the mouth of the tunnel, Felipe Contepomi wrapped a brotherly arm around Jonny Sexton. In the world's biggest freezer unit, the rogue hormone of friendship was slowly breaking out.

"So much of what these teams understand about one another has generated only boiling antipathy. Somehow, the last decade pushed them ceaselessly into one another's faces and, routinely, they found themselves doing things and saying things that pretty much brought dialogue back to the cave."

Mick Cleary salutes former Argentina scrum-half Agustin Pichot as his player of the decade in The Daily Telegraph.

”Of course Brian O'Driscoll has a serious claim to being the Player of the Noughties, as do Martin Johnson, Jonny Wilkinson and the Kiwi double act of Dan Carter and Richie McCaw.

"All fabulous players, all highly influential, all first-class citizens in their way. They have shaped, or are shaping, sides in their image: committed, skilled, potent and capable of producing the X-Factor moment. No, you couldn't quibble with any of those contenders.

“But one man transcended even their achievements, managed to bend not only any given particular match to his will, but also to change the entire face of the sport in his country. It is not at all fanciful to declare that Agustin Pichot has been the player of this decade even if he does cede something to the likes of Carter or O'Driscoll in pure technical talent, in that hint of genius.

“Pichot's worth goes beyond a mere tick-list of abilities. For the sheer ferocity of his inner being, the unquenchable appetite for the contest, for his urgent passion, his awareness, his courage and his presence, Pichot has no equal.”