The Ireland team approaches this two match tour of Argentina with all the momentum that a victorious Six Nations Campaign can bring. Joe Schmidt has reinvigorated the squad, implementing much of the intelligent game plan that he utilised with great success at Leinster, ensuring that the Ireland team looks to be in fine fettle fifteen months out from the World Cup. However there are plenty of areas of concern for Schmidt and this tour must be used to help address some of the more pressing issues, chiefly developing a new midfield combination after the retirement of the great Brian O’Driscoll, and a need to develop greater squad depth.

Life after BoD will not be easy for Ireland, O’Driscoll is an all-time great, and there will not be a new Brian O’Driscoll. Expecting the next player to don the #13 shirt to replace what O’Driscoll brought to the Ireland team would be monstrously unfair. It’s true that Ireland need to establish a new midfield combination, but the burden of replacing O’Driscoll must fall upon the team as a whole, rather than the midfield alone.

Schmidt faces the international coach’s age-old dilemma, he needs to provide game time to a wider array of players, yet he also needs to keep achieving positive results so that the momentum gained during his first year in charge continues to grow. The squad contains a number of players who missed out on the Six Nations and who will now have the chance to present their case for inclusion, but there are enough established starters, such as Rory Best, Paul O’Connell, Jamie Heaslip, Johnny Sexton and Rob Kearney, that the spine of the team remains intact. With Australia and South Africa visiting Dublin in the autumn, these two matches against a largely home-based Argentina team are the best opportunities that Schmidt will have for experimentation.

Of course even the best laid plans will be disrupted by injuries, rugby union remains a brutal sport and even the brightest careers can seem ephemeral, as the recent retirement of the terrifically gifted, but injury prone Stephen Ferris illustrates. So it comes as no surprise that injuries have taken their toll on the squad that travels to face Argentina. Munster back Keith Earls once again finds himself out of luck, this time through illness, and while he is no international rookie, Earls hasn’t played for Ireland since March 2013 which means he has yet to feature under Schmidt. Talented Leinster tighthead prop, and likely long term starter for Ireland Martin Moore misses out through injury, as does one of the leading options to play 13 after O’Driscoll, Connacht’s Robbie Henshaw. Ulster fly-half Paddy Jackson pulled out of the squad with a stress fracture to his lower back, it robs him of crucial international game time, and creates an opportunity for Ian Madigan of Leinster to press his claim to be the backup fly-half behind Sexton.

That battle between Jackson and Madigan is likely to continue throughout the 2014-15 season. The Ulsterman is the more experienced fly-half, having enjoyed a strong 2013-14 campaign playing at fly-half for his province. Meanwhile Madigan saw a similar amount of playing time to Jackson, but at a variety of different positions, with Jimmy Gopperth often playing at 10 instead. As a result Jackson has pushed ahead of Madigan in the fly-half pecking order, though Madigan’s attacking style and versatility will always make him an attractive option from the bench. However if Madigan performs well in Argentina he could change that pecking order once again.

With the retirement of Brian O’Driscoll, and Gordon D’Arcy being rested, this tour will see the start of life after BoD for the Irish backs. Ulster combination Luke Marshall and Darren Cave will likely have the first opportunity to start at 12 and 13, but this is another position battle that will carry on through the autumn and Six Nations, when Henshaw, D’Arcy and Jared Payne will all come into consideration. Noel Reid of Leinster is an inexperienced but interesting alternative, while fellow Leinsterman Fergus McFadden could also feature there, though he is more usually seen on the wing.

Joe Schmidt has shown a preference for physical and well rounded players on the wings, which has meant that the exciting Simon Zebo of Munster had found himself frozen out. However with Earls and Dave Kearney injured, and Tommy Bowe rested, Zebo now has the opportunity to show that he can do the things Schmidt expects of his wingers, while offering greater dynamism with the ball in hand. If Zebo can force his way into Schmidt’s selections it greatly improves Ireland’s game breaking potential, but that will only happen if his all-round game has improved.

There is much less intrigue amongst the forwards; the tour provides an opportunity to continue the development of squad players such as loosehead prop Jack McGrath (Leinster), lock Iain Henderson and back row forwards Robbie Diack (Ulster) and Jordi Murphy (Leinster). Of them Henderson is the most likely to forced his way into the starting line up for the 2014-15 season, but Paul O’Connell (Munster) is a fixture in the team and Devin Toner (Leinster) had an impressive Six Nations. Henderson is a terrific talent and splits time between lock and blindside flanker, he looks certain to be an Ireland regular for years to come, but may have to settle for a role as an impact substitute for now. If that lock partnership is to be broken up then it may be Donncha Ryan (Munster), who missed the tour through injury, rather than Henderson that does it.