Argentina then beat Ireland a second time and by a bigger margin of 34-23 in Buenos Aires in June 2000 – and those losses are what will be spurring O’Kelly on at Lansdowne Road on Saturday.

“If you take on board the fact that you’ve lost a couple of games against them you can look at it two ways,” he said.

“You can be negative in that you don’t think you can beat these guys. Or you can look it at that for us we’ve developed as a side.

“I’ve tasted the bitter pill of defeat against them twice, so I’m really looking forward to personally lifting my game and playing well against these guys and seeing what it’s like to actually beat them.”

The Lens defeat, a 28-24 loss which ended with Ireland camped on the Argentine try line and even employing 15-man line-outs to conjure up a victory, still holds painful memories for O’Kelly.

“It was like a funeral afterwards – one of the worst feelings I’ve ever had as a player,” he said.

“The game itself was very tough, and I’d like to think that if we were there again we would have won it. But it was just one of those days.

“Panic? Definitely with five minutes to go. Panic was setting in – everything was setting in. We did everything to try and score. We were doing the job well that day. It was just that they scored a try, and that was the big difference.”

O’Kelly is convinced getting Argentina back to Lansdowne Road can only help the Irish cause.

“Buenos Aires was a fantastic experience. It was like being at a soccer game. The crowd was just so vocal, and things were being thrown at us – toilet rolls, plates.

“I think it was about a half-a-mile walk up from the dressing room to the pitch, up stairs and around by barbed wire fences before we finally got out into a big bear pit. It was very exciting.

“These are the experiences we have to take in and now let them experience what it’s like to be at Lansdowne Road.”