Scotland vs. Argentina: Score and Report from Autumn Rugby International
Scotland defeated Argentina 41-31 at home on the back of an excellent first half, as the hosts dominated the match for 70 minutes, allowing several late tries that made the score look a lot closer than it really was.
The hosts had a nightmare start to the match, after Jonny Gray played a terrible pass to Greig Laidlaw. The scrum-half got laid out, and Javier Ortega Desio picked up the loose ball and returned it all the way across the pitch for the opening try.
Scotland soon found themselves on level terms, however, Richie Gray playing a beautiful dummy to fool Manuel Montero before sliding over the line.
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Former Scotland international Andy Nicol told BBC Sport that was exactly how the hosts needed to answer the early setback.
"That was a very good reaction by Scotland to conceding an early try," he said. "Very simple play with numbers in the wider channels and it's a great example of what Richie Gray can do."
Laidlaw added the conversion from a difficult angle, tying things up 7-7.
Small errors held back the Scots' attempt to move ahead, with Mark Bennett spilling a ball forward from a strong scoring position before a disintegrating ruck led to an Argentina penalty. Nicolas Sanchez converted it beautifully, giving the lead back to the visitors.
Rodrigo Baez left the pitch with an injury for Argentina, and Juan Imhoff was sent to the sin-bin for a bodycheck on Tommy Seymour. The Scots saw their chance, and Jonny Gray followed the example set by his brother by scoring a try of his own, with a similar dive.
Sean Maitland added another just two minutes later, racing past the Argentina defenders to push Scotland's advantage to 21-10 following another successful conversion.
The visitors were scrambling for answers, but some sloppy play gave the ball back to the Scots, who added another three points via a penalty. Everything was now going wrong for the visitors, with Sanchez missing his chance to eat into the lead, per Scottish Rugby:
Laidlaw had one final chance to add to Scotland's tally, but he too missed a penalty just before half-time. The score remained 24-10, and fans were delighted with how the hosts were playing, including the Retrospect Journal's Charles Nurick:
Scotland continued their fine play early in the second half, and Stuart Hogg had a go at a long kick from a difficult angle, putting the ball well wide of the posts.
Argentina tried to attack down the flanks with a little more ambition, but Scotland remained the better team. Hogg made up for his miss with a try minutes later, taking the offload from Laidlaw after a bad mistake by the visitors on a scrum.
While there's no denying the Argentines were playing one of their worst matches in recent years, the hosts looked mightily impressive. BBC's Kirsty Wark concurred:
Argentina started pushing forward in a desperate attempt to kick off a comeback, but the hosts kept defending superbly and adding to the lead. Laidlaw reclaimed the kicking duties and nailed a monster kick from 46 metres out, making the score 34-10.
The visitors were handed a lifeline when Rob Harley received the yellow card after Argentina jumper Leonardo Senatore fell to the ground, and Harley was judged to have taken him out.
Argentina believed they had scored a try just one minute later, but Tomas Lavanini was judged to have made a double move leading up to a the scoring chance, and the try was rightly not given.
It was only a stay of execution, however, with the Argentines scoring a penalty try minutes later and adding a drop-goal conversion to make it 34-17.
Any hopes of an unlikely comeback were quickly quelled, Seymour intercepting a long pass and racing the length of the pitch before leaping for the score. Tomas Cubelli added another score for the visitors in a wild final 10 minutes, but Scotland's win was no longer in danger.
Cubelli added a second in the final minute, as the match ended 41-31 in favour of the Scots.
Laidlaw put together a fantastic match, and he told STV Sport he believes his move to Gloucester has him playing better than ever before:
"The move to Gloucester has been revitalising. I was ready to leave Edinburgh—I was at the stage in my career where I wanted to try something new and I've really enjoyed it so far.
It's a good set-up down there, every match in the Premiership feels like a big game and we are well supported down at Kingsholm, so from a personal perspective, it has allowed me to kick on.
Hopefully that will now feed into my Scotland form. I'm playing quicker now than I have ever done in the past because that is the way Gloucester want to play. Vern [Cotter] wants to do that as well with Scotland.
It's important I show that in these Tests because we have got a very important Six Nations coming up before we even start thinking about what everyone is talking about - the World Cup
"
Vern Cotter won't be pleased with the late tries his defence gave up to an Argentina squad that had a nightmare outing, but the team's discipline and attacking intensity are positive signs as the Scots prepare for the rest of their Autumn Internationals.
The Gray brothers made an excellent impression and the team as a whole played with creativity, kicking the ball extremely well. While there's still plenty of time separating us from the World Cup, Scotland appears to be trending in the right direction.
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