Argentina fail to fire against Scotland

Argentina failed to fire against Scotland today, falling to a 14-9 defeat in Edinburgh. The hosts scored the only try in the match and enjoyed vastly superior goal-kicking.

Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw used the rain to his advantage in the match. He was able to play a patient game and was also accurate at shooting for goal. His first strike saw the Scots leading 3-0 after 4 minutes.

In his final match before joining Stade Français, Nicolás Sánchez was off the mark. His 9th minute miss would not be his only as he landed 3 of 6 for the match. Fullback Emiliano Bofelli was also wayward with his attempt.

After two missed attempts, Argentina would land a penalty with their third effort. In his second shot, Sánchez leveled the match at 3-3 after 29 minutes.

Scotland responded minutes later to regain a three point advantage. It saw the hosts going into half time with a 6-3 lead.

Sánchez opened the second half scoring. His 42nd minute effort brought the scores to 6-6 but would fail to land another five minutes later.

At the other end of the field Laidlaw made it a 9-6 scoreline. His 54th minute attempt was a simple kick from in front with former captain Agustín Creevy penalized for a high tackle.

Ten minutes later came the turning point. New Zealand Maori import Sean Maitland combined with Stuart Hogg to score out wide. Laidlaw missed the conversion from the corner.

Argentina looked to hit back straight-away. It saw a missed opportunity with a try on offer. Emiliano Boffelli broke from half way and linked with Jerónimo de la Fuente. The latter looked to off-load while being tackled only for it to be a knock-on. It summed up Argentina’s match.

Points would come but they would again be delayed as Sánchez was again off target with a medium-range penalty. He would mark amends shortly thereafter with a penalty from a scrum to make it a 14-9 scoreline. Los Pumas would not score further points.

Scotland were on top in the final minutes and did what they needed to wind down the clock. Laidlaw woulf miss a late penalty attempt though the hosts would remain camped in Argentine territory to see out the win.

 

SCORING

SCOTLAND 14
Tries – S. Maitland (65′)
Cons – G. Laidlaw 0/1
Pens – G. Laidlaw 3/3 (3′, 32′, 55′)

ARGENTINA 9
Pens – N. Sánchez 3/6 (28′, 43′, 74′), E. Boffelli 0/1

 

TEAMS

SCOTLAND
1 Allan Dell (17 Alex Allan 67′), 2 Fraser Brown (16 Stuart McInally 61′), 3 Simon Berghan (18 WP Nel 50′), 4 Grant Gilchrist, 5 Jonny Gray (19 Sam Skinner 67′), 6 Jamie Ritchie, 7 Hamish Watson, 8 Josh Strauss (20 Ryan Wilson 50′), 9 Greig Laidlaw (capt.), 10 Adam Hastings (22 Alex Dunbar 61′), 11 Blair Kinghorn (23 Byron McGuigan 67′), 12 Finn Russell, 13 Huw Jones, 14 Sean Maitland, 15 Stuart Hogg

Not used: George Horne

ARGENTINA
1 Santiago García Botta (17 Juan Pablo Zeiss 67′), 2 Agustín Creevy (16 Julián Montoya 60′), 3 Santiago Medrano, 4 Guido Petti, 5 Tomás Lavanini (19 Matías Alemanno 62′), 6 Pablo Matera (capt.), 7 Rodrigo Bruni, 8 Javier Ortega Desio (20 Tomás Lezana 50′), 9 Gonzalo Bertranou (21 Martín Landajo 50′), 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 11 Ramiro Moyano, 12 Jerónimo de la Fuente (22 Matías Orlando 23′-24′), 13 Matías Moroni (22 Matías Orlando HT), 14 Bautista Delguy (23 Sebastián Cancelliere 71′), 15 Emiliano Boffelli

Not used: 18 Lucio Sordoni

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Paul Williams (NZRU)
Assistants: Nigel Owens (WRU) & Dan Jones (WRU)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)