Autumn Internationals: Johnny Watterson on Ireland's Mr Versatile who will worry about World Cup 2007 after the Pumas

Of the Irish players who line out and sit on the bench against Argentina tomorrow, age alone may indicate who may or may not be around in three years time for the 2007 World Cup in France. Just six players from the squad of 22 will be still under 30 - Brian O'Driscoll, Shane Horgan, Johnny O'Connor, Paul O'Connell, Donncha O'Callaghan and Geordan Murphy. By 2007, the rest of the present panel will range in ages from 30 to 36.

As age profiles go that's probably too high for Eddie O'Sullivan to bring them along as a group over the intervening period but he must be satisfied that such key players should be at or around their peak in experience and physique by the time France comes around. O'Driscoll will be 28, Murphy 29.

As a meticulous planner, O'Sullivan has thought about the issue but since the scrapping of the 'A' international series, he has had to be cautious about who he bloods at senior level and whether they are worth persevering with. He has less latitude to throw players in at Test level to see if they sink or swim.

"Yes, I'm doing that, looking at the World Cup. But whether we like it or not, we want to win every game. We can't say 'let's go out and experiment like mad'. You don't throw away Test games to try out things. If you lose an 'A' game it's not the end of the world. If you lose a Six Nations it might be," said O'Sullivan during the week, with just a hint of frustration.

Argentina will represent a game he wishes to win. A grudge match of sorts, there seems always debts to be paid: first the defeat in Lens, then the 16-15 revenge victory last year at the Adelaide Oval, and a match played in swampland conditions in between.

Murphy has not been involved in any of the recent battles. Last year he watched Ireland beat Argentina on a UTV television monitor in Belfast while recovering from the broken leg he sustained playing a World Cup warm-up game against Scotland in 2003.

"I've played Argentina at junior level, never senior," he says. "Yeh, it was a tough match to watch as an Irish supporter and I suppose because potentially I could have been playing on the side."

A utility player, Murphy has in recent weeks moved from the wing against South Africa to full back last weekend and is now back on the wing again to face the Pumas as Girvan Dempsey holds the number 15 shirt. Once again a key figure in the Irish team in either position, Murphy's evident usefulness to O'Sullivan is also important long-term.

"Wing, full back, it's rugby," says Murphy. "If you simplify it, the aim for me is to get the ball and score. No matter where I'm playing that's what I'm trying to do - or create scores or gain ground.

"I find it easier to do those things from full back just because I do it week in week out for Leicester. But I've no problem playing anywhere and I've always said that. I'm sure people are sick of me saying it. You're not going to get me to throw my toys out of the pram or spit out the dummy saying 'oh, I want to play full back'."

Murphy won his first cap in 2000 but due to injury played in only 10 of the next 24 internationals. Returning to the team in March after the mishap against the Scots, Murphy's recovery, like that of Denis Hickie and Johnny O'Connor, has been perfect. He is also a font of creativity in a team that outsiders, such as Argentina and Leinster outhalf Felipe Contepomi this week, have described as very structured.

"It would be quite a difficult thing to tell players like Shane Horgan, Brian O'Driscoll or Ronan O'Gara, some of the best broken field runners in the world, that they are structured," he says.

"I think plenty of breaks are being made. If that comes from being too structured then maybe we should play structured more often. Those guys are there to play rugby and when it comes, they'll play it. I don't feel I'm being chained in any way. I feel I'm able to get around and play."

With expectations soaring following the win over the Springboks, Murphy's light-footed drifting ability will bring the 25-year-old his 25th cap. With his talent it would have been more had he stayed injury free. Still, with bigger tournaments further down the road, expect him to be around for a few more years at least.