Scots see off Pumas in fine style to please coach Gregor

SCOTLAND head coach Gregor Townsend was a satisfied man after watching his side demolish Argentina 44-15 in Resistencia.

From the first minute, all his selection gambles paid off and he could sit back and look at a job well done from his key players.

He was full of praise for young half-backs George Horne, who scored two of the tries, and Adam Hastings, who helped make both of them.

“There was about a 140-cap difference between the two sets of half-backs and they are quality players in the Argentinian team, Landajo and Sanchez, I love watching them play,” Townsend remarked.

“That was a huge challenge for our guys on their second starts for Scotland but they played with so much positivity, they went for gaps they knew were there. That shows they were confident – they thrived in that environment. “It was really encouraging for the future. “Adam (Hastings) is a confident guy. He obviously did not have a brilliant experience last week, though there were some good things, lots of good things.

“It was great to see him put that behind him.”

In fact, just about everything Scotland tried in an all-action first half came off.

“Of course. This does not happen very much in Test match rugby, it happens even more rarely in club rugby when you go away from home and you execute almost everything in the first half,” Townsend said.

“It would probably have been try of the season if we had managed to score that in the first half after Adam’s chip.

“Apart from that, it was perfect play by our players. When you make the breakthrough and the score goes through seven to 14 to 21, it gives you great confidence what you are doing is right. It forces the opposition to try things and takes their confidence away.”

Apart from the half-backs, the other gamble that paid off was hooker Fraser Brown being switched to flanker.

“Every selection, you use the term ‘gamble’, we look at what is best for the team,” said Townsend.

“It fits with what’s we see during the week, what we know of the players and what we believe the game will go like.

“Sometimes it does not work because the game goes differently from how you thought or not as well as you hope.

“We just wanted our best players on the field and Fraser is an excellent hooker and was excellent over ball.”