STAR PAIRING CAN LOOK FORWARD TO HAPPIER TIMES
JASON WHITE:
IN A frustrating day at Murrayfield, both sides fell victim to the wet weather, but Scotland will be pleased they came out on the right side of the arm wrestle. Pre-match predictions of a high-scoring game were swiftly dashed as the slippy ball became almost unplayable, with players from both teams having a serious case of butterfingers.
Perhaps the biggest talking point surrounded the hosts’ new midfield pairing of Adam Hastings and Finn Russell.
While both performed well, the elements ruined any chances of seeing the two play the exciting, expansive rugby we have seen from Scotland recently.
At times, Hastings found himself isolated. Due to the conditions, the game did seem to lend itself to starting with a crash-ball centre in the form of Alex Dunbar, who came on for Hastings after 60 minutes and seemed to steady the ship, with the Scots scoring their only try in the new formation. Despite the anti-climax of this
tantalising duo not being able to show their flair, head coach Gregor Townsend and his assistants will still come away from this match with some positives.
Defensive coach Matt Taylor will no doubt have a smile on his face.
Argentina came up against a wall of blue in front of them and Taylor will be happy with our line speed.
The forwards had learned from the South Africa match last week as Jamie Ritchie and Fraser Brown earned key turnovers in the game.
But the danger of coming out on the wrong side of the possession charts means penalties against you are inevitable.
When teams are defending a lot, there is such a fine line between having a fantastic defence with strong line speed and being penalised by the referee.
They must play each breakdown on the limit of the law and we were very fortunate that the Argentinian fly-half, Nicolas Sanchez, was poor with his kicking.
He is a world-class player, so for him to miss that many kicks will hurt. He left a winning margin out on the pitch. Against England, with Owen Farrell or Ireland and Johnny Sexton, you would expect those penalties to be put over. We can count ourselves lucky that Sanchez wasn’t on form yesterday.
Townsend will review these matches as a block of four. One of his main focuses will likely be an improvement in our away form.
That will be his biggest challenge when he reflects on the first match against Wales. We didn’t perform well enough in Cardiff.
And while we showed in the 80 minutes against Fiji and the first 40 minutes against South Africa that when we play the wide game, we can challenge any team in the world, our away form in Wales and the performance against the Pumas still leaves us short of the mark.
We could well see a game like yesterday’s in the World Cup group stage, similar to the rugby played in that tournament in 2007.
That nervy type of action often showcased in the European Cup knockout stage. You associate it with teams such as Munster and Leinster, who are so good at just grinding out wins.
The Scots must bear that in mind. If we do get to the knockout stage of the World Cup, we will face some tough matches.
The questions are: Can we come out of the arm wrestle on the right side? Do we have a different way to win?
Of course, the result yesterday was a positive one, but if we hadn’t held firm, if Argentina had broken through and we had lost at home, then the overriding feeling of these November Tests would have been that Scotland have taken a step backwards.
Our next big test will come in the Six Nations. We know you must get a win out of the first two matches.
Starting with a bang will set the tone for the competition and with three matches at home, we have the potential and the opportunity to come out of the tournament in a fantastic position for World Cup selection.
Townsend will have a hard task on his hands to select 31 players. With the likes of Richie Gray, Zander Fagerson and Duncan Taylor all waiting in the wings, it shows Scotland have great strength in depth.
And if we find a bit more of a gnarly edge to our front five, when it comes to these really tight games, that might just be the difference between coming out of our pool first or second in the World Cup next year.
This weekend has also illustrated the importance of the wider rugby family. The support for Gareth Thomas through the rainbow laces campaign illustrates that sport in general — and rugby especially — can influence a nation.
Standing up to homophobic issues, race issues and hate crimes is hugely important. For all international teams to get behind it sends out a great message.
Tantalising pair did well but elements ruined any chance of seeing their flair