'Great to be back' but Felipe Contepomi's Pumas focused on Dublin mission

It's an autumn filled with reunions.

Last week it was our old pals New Zealand who came to town and let the air out of the balloon at the start of the party.

At the end of the series, Joe Schmidt will bring his Wallabies to Dublin as the IRFU celebrates its 150th anniversary and the former Ireland head coach is assured of a warm welcome.

This week though, it’s Felipe Contepomi who rocks up to Aviva Stadium with an Argentinian side that have Ireland firmly in their crosshairs.

The 47-year-old, however, is keen to stress that this is not about him.

"First of all, it’s not about me bringing the national team here," said Contepomi at the team’s hotel in Dublin on Wednesday morning.

"We have the chance, as Argentina, to play against one of the best teams in the last few years."

But the fact remains that Contepomi spent 10 formative years among us, six as an out-half with Leinster between 2003 and 2009, when he helped the club to their first Champions Cup, and then returning in 2018 to spend four years as backs coach with the province.

During his playing stint, he qualified from the Royal College of Surgeons as a doctor. He’s got a lot of catching up to do with old friends on this brief trip.

"It’s great, it’s always good to be back in Dublin," said the Buenos Aires native, who won 87 international caps.

"I love Dublin and Ireland. I’ve had time to catch up with a few old friends with the excitement of being here with my national team.

"I've got one son and a daughter who were born in Ireland as well.

"Unluckily, they are not Irish because of the rules or whatever, but many milestones in my life happened here in Ireland, definitely.

"I spent 10 years here. It's a lot of my adulthood. I'm 47 so say from 17 to here, 10 years is a third of my