5 THINGS WE LEARNED

Scotland ARE an 80-minute team

After the late defeat to Australia, a lot was made about Scotland drifting out of games after the hour mark, but in this contest they fought right to the death. Finn Russell (left) missed with two drop goal attempts, but the team showed their battling qualities to win one last kickable penalty. A big confidence boost.

We have three top-class second rows

After Jonny and Richie Gray teamed up so well against Australia in the second-row, many wondered how the Scots would do with Richie missing. Grant Gilchrist stepped in and showed that he is over his injury woes with a dominant showing where he really got stuck in and made an impact.

Subs bench made an impact

Often pundits say that, man for man, Scotland’s starting XV can take on the world’s best, but it is the lack of depth and options on the bench that lets them down. This time, the replacement front-rowers and back-row Ryan Wilson really made a positive difference when they came on.

There is still a lack of leaders

Although they came out of the game with a win under their belts there is still a feeling that game management is lacking at times. Greig Laidlaw (left) cannot be expected to take control of everything out there on the pitch and it would be good to see others talking a bit more and helping their skipper out when required.

Pumas are a dangerous beast

Argentina like to be brutish up front, disrupt teams at scrum time, make a mess of the breakdown and get in people’s faces. They did that well yesterday and Scotland nearly fell into the trap in a niggly and fractious affair. When the Scots concentrated on playing rugby they showed that they had the edge.