The baggage is unavoidable.
So Clarin, Argentina’s biggest newspaper, steered straight into it.
In the first two lines of their preview of Sunday’s match, “history, politics, the Falklands War and England’s persistent imperialist views” were all referenced., external
The story of a teenage Federico Mendez ironing out England second row Paul Ackford with a blindside haymaker 35 years ago was retold.
On Thursday, Franco Molina threw in another piece of the Anglo-Argentine back story.
“It was a goal, the referee gave it, it was a goal!,” the Argentina second row said, recalling Diego Maradona’s contentious ‘Hand of God’ goal in the 1986 quarter-final meeting at the football World Cup.
But it was all with a smile.
If all that history is being brewed up as pep-talk kerosene, Molina, who spent last season playing for Exeter, hid it well.
For him there was too much to get excited about in the 80 minutes to come, without dredging up the past.
“It is a big game, just because of the context of the international game,” he said.
“It is really special playing at Twickenham.
“It is going to be a really physical game and every English team is tidy in what they do, all the kicks from the field, all the play with the ball in hand.
“We will need to be really connected and precise across the whole 80 minutes to beat them.”
