Felipe Contepomi claims that Ireland's Leinster frontliners were better equipped going to Japan because of Stuart Lancaster's coaching input at provincial level.
Contepomi's former team-mates Brian O'Driscoll and Isa Nacewa suggested in the wake of Ireland's World Cup failure that Lancaster's unstructured game plan may have disrupted Joe Schmidt's more conservative Ireland tactical approach.
But the former Argentina ace said: "If it is that they're so different, I say they make the players even better - because they're able to play different styles and adapt.
"For me, it would be worse for them and us to all be the same, because then you don't have Plan B, you've nothing to move on and get better as a player.
“If you can manage a very structured playbook as Ireland did, or as they say, it's a masterclass to move to unstructured stuff that they say we play.
"I like to think we play good rugby. A player who can have both sides can only become a better player. For me, it's not something clashing, it's making the player even better.”
Contepomi insists that despite what occurred in the Far East, Ireland remain a "very solid" outfit.
“If I’m not wrong, it is three Six Nations, one Grand Slam and the series win in Australia in the last six years," he said.
"Those are big trophies. I wouldn’t go on just trophies, it's the bigger picture.
“In Leinster, it's having that strength in depth, bringing new players through, making the team and the squad stronger.
"That’s even if we didn’t manage to win Europe last year, it is about moving forward for Leinster, the way last season went.
"It always has to come from the player. We are lucky enough because we have great professional players.
"In the 15 months I’ve been back here, I have only seen great desire to get better and improve. We're pretty happy we're moving forward".
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