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Simon Best believes Ireland's only hope of defeating Argentina is to dominate the forward exchanges.
The pressure is on Ireland's game-breakers like Brian O'Driscoll, Gordon D'Arcy and Shane Horgan to carve up Los Pumas at the Parc des Princes on Sunday.
Eddie O'Sullivan's side must score a minimum of four tries and prevent Argentina from securing a losing bonus point if they are to avoid a humiliating World Cup exit.
But Best, who is likely to be sprung from the bench in the final quarter on Sunday, believes Ireland's backs will only get the space if the pack can nullify their counterparts.
"We are no strangers to how they play having met them so many times over the last few years," said Best. "Their traditional game is to go around the sides, target the scrum and drive the line-out. Our pack is going to be vital in that respect.
"Every time you play against Argentina, that's the sort of game they want to play. We experienced that in the summer first hand and they are probably pretty confident.
" We will be approaching it as we want to play it. Try to win the game first and if the tries come on the way, that's what we are after.
" They will be physical and they will take it to us up front. It is a big challenge for us in the pack and our defence to stop that and get them on the back foot and hopefully we impose our game plan."
Best however ruled out any thoughts that Argentina may go into the game a little too confidently, given their blistering start to the tournament.
" They have built a lot of momentum from their win over France in the first game, " he added. "The vast majority of people following the tournament wouldn't have given them a chance.
"They are a fairly confident bunch and they play that way. They have world class players and I can't see that being a deciding factor in the game.
"A lot of it will come down to how we play and how we perform. We know we can beat them but I don't think we can rely on them being over-confident, they are not that kind of side.
"From our point of view, going into this tournament we knew this was going to be the pivotal game and Argentina have put themselves into a strong position through their own play. But it is still great that we have this opportunity to progress."
