Pumas crash to defeat against Scotland in Salta

Los Pumas crashed to a 29-6 defeat at the hands of Scotland on Saturday. A sellout crowd in Salta turned up on Argentina’s Independence Day, but they were left disappointed as their team couldn’t solve a resolute Scottish defense despite numerous chances to put points on the board.

A knock-on from Marcos Kremer on the first passage of play, followed immediately by a scrum penalty were an ominous sign for the home side. Soon after Blair Kinghorn lined up a shot at goal from just outside the 22-meter line and it was 3-0 with only four minutes played.

Emiliano Boffelli replied with his own penalty goal two minutes later to settle nerves. A line break from Santiago Carreras resulted in a scrum to Argentina after a Scottish knock-on, but Kremer was pinged for sealing off at the ruck after a pick-and-go from Rodrigo Bruni.

Ben White’s high tackle on Bruni gave Boffelli an easy chance for three points which he duly slotted. Remarkably Argentina would score no further points in the encounter. Kinghorn turned down a shot at goal and though the maul was stopped, it wasn’t long before Hamish Watson burrowed over the line for a try in his 50th cap for his country.

The crowd was left stunned when Scotland scored their second try not two minutes into the second half. Pierre Schoeman thundered over the gainline, and then White broke from the ruck. His short pass found Mark Bennett screaming at pace for a straight run under the posts. It was the easiest of conversions for Kinghorn to make it 15-6 for the visitors.

Guido Petti slid over at the end of a sweeping passage for what looked like a wonderful team try. Unfortunately a TMO review picked out a forward pass from Juan Imhoff earlier in the move and the score was wiped off the board. At the same time Scotland lost Kyle Rowe to a knee injury just minutes after coming into the game for his test debut.

Boffelli paid the price for repeat team infringements and was dispatched to the sin bin with Scotland knocking on the door. White took the ball on himself from the ensuing scrum and nearly made it over, with Matt Fagerson taking it the rest of the way. Ross Thompson’s conversion made it a three-score gap.

Another chance to score for Los Pumas came just ahead of the hour mark. Kremer bent the line with a hard run up the middle, then Carreras sped through the gap but Rory Darge knocked the ball free as the flyhalf was falling over the line. Scotland conceded a free-kick at the scrum and Argentina would have the next put-in, but Mayco Vivas was singled out for dropping his bind and Scotland cleared their lines.

Sam Johnson’s outside-in line caught the Pumas defense unawares and the midfielder slid home for a fourth Scottish try. Argentina pressed for a late consolation try to no avail. Gonzalo Bertranou would be held up and Agustín Creevy stopped just short before another scrum penalty went against them. Finally Bennett stripped the ball from Boffelli as he was falling over the line for yet another missed opportunity.

The series is now tied at one game apiece as the two sides head south to Santiago Del Estero for the third and final test next Saturday. Michael Cheika will demand accuracy from his charges while also seeking significant improvement in the scrum.

 

SCORING

ARGENTINA 6
Pens – E. Boffelli 2/2 (6′, 34′)
YC – E. Boffelli (52′)

SCOTLAND 29
Tries – H. Watson (37′), M. Bennett (42′), M. Fagerson (53′), S. Johnson (64′)
Cons – B. Kinghorn 1/2 (43′), R. Thompson 2/2 (54′, 65′)
Pens – B. Kinghorn 1/1 (4′)

 

TEAMS

ARGENTINA
1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro (17 Mayco Vivas 50′), 2 Julián Montoya (capt.) (16 Agustín Creevy 54′), 3 Francisco Gómez Kodela (18 Joel Sclavi 54′), 4 Guido Petti, 5 Matías Alemanno (19 Lucas Paulos 68′), 6 Juan Martín González, 7 Marcos Kremer, 8 Rodrigo Bruni 920 Facundo Isa 46′), 9 Gonzalo Bertranou (21 Felipe Ezcurra 72′), 10 Santiago Carreras, 11 Juan Imhoff (22 Domingo Miotti 76′), 12 Jerónimo de La Fuente (23 Matías Moroni 68′), 13 Matías Orlando, 14 Santiago Cordero, 15 Emiliano Boffelli

SCOTLAND
1 Pierre Schoeman (17 Jamie Bhatti 65′), 2 Dave Cherry (16 George Turner 54′), 3 Zander Fagerson (18 Javan Sebastian 65′), 4 Sam Skinner, 5 Grant Gilchrist (capt.) (19 Scott Cummings 65′), 6 Rory Darge, 7 Hamish Watson (20 Andy Christie 70′), 8 Matt Fagerson, 9 Ben White (21 Ali Price 54′), 10 Blair Kinghorn, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 12 Sam Johnson, 13 Mark Bennett, 14 Darcy Graham, 15 Rory Hutchinson (23 Kyle Rowe 38′ {22 Ross Thompson 49′})

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistants: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand) & Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)