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On Saturday Scotland and Argentina met for the first time in over two years. The fixture was of vital importance to both teams due to World Rankings. Argentina entered the match in 8th and Scotland 9th. With seedings for the draw for Rugby World Cup 2019 closing in May 2017 this was the penultimate match for Los Pumas. Scotland will have Georgia next weekend and then five matches in the 2017 Six Nations.
Argentina’s display at Murrayfield was not that of a team that had heavily beaten Japan just two weeks earlier. Instead Argentina failed to play to the conditions and did not pick a side to match Scotland’s heavy pack. It meant Argentina was, for the second match running, unable to play freely.
Scotland’s intelligent approach saw there home side dominating territory and possession. Argentina’s stubbornness did not help matters. Indeed the policy of running from deep rather than clearing saw Argentina unable to break out of their half regularly. It aided Scotland and directly gave them a 6-0 lead.
When Argentina did get it right their scored an impressive try. Small errors, though, would not go away. Scotland was able to hit-back smartly based on Los Pumas handling mistakes. Additional opportunities did present themselves but it was the Northern Europeans who outsmarted the South Americans merely by playing tight. The size of the pack and the cold proved too much for Los Pumas.
For a complete match report click here.
HIGHLIGHTS
FULL MATCH
