SEAN TO A WINNER
Lacklustre Scotland manage to grind out victory in the gloom but stubborn Pumas make it a gruelling spectacle for fans
Maitland try helps Scots over the line against dogged Pumas
IT wasn’t pretty to watch by any stretch of the imagination but at least Scotland showed when the spark is missing, they still have it in them to win ugly.
With the World Cup just around the corner, that is something very important to be able to do.
This was a game when everybody turned up expecting a try fest against a poor Argentina side.
Instead, Scotland scored a solitary try through Sean Maitland and had to rely on Argentina missing four pretty easy penalty kicks at goal to ensure such a narrow victory.
There were few Scotland heroes out there, with the collective experience of Maitland, Stuart Hogg and captain Greig Laidlaw needed to get their team over the line.
It was quick-thinking by Hogg to switch play under pressure down the short side that allowed Maitland to score in the corner with 15 minutes left. Laidlaw got the rest of Scotland’s points with three penalties.
In those nervous last 10 minutes, his game management was top class. He was a worthy choice as man of the match.
Argentine fly-half Nicolas Sanchez put over three penalties but let Scotland off the hook by missing three more easier ones. Emiliano Boffelli also pulled one wide. A total of twelve points going to waste.
On top of that, the Pumas made a hash of two try-scoring chances. Scotland hooker Fraser Brown was lucky not to be yellow-carded for a high tackle on Ramiro Moyano, which rightly upset the Pumas.
No wonder at the final whistle there was more relief than joy among the Scotland players and fans as the home side won by the skin of their teeth.
The victory means Scotland have beaten Fiji and Argentina and lost to Wales and South Africa in November. Against Fiji, they ran amok, scoring eight tries but against the Pumas that was never going to happen.
The decision to start Adam Hastings at 10 and move Finn Russell to inside-centre to accommodate him didn’t provide the attacking spark expected. Hastings took the ball far too often back into traffic while Russell didn’t get his hands on the ball enough.
It was only when Hastings went off on the hour mark, with Russell moving to fly-half and Alex Dunbar coming on to partner Huw Jones in the centre, that Scotland’s attack improved. It was no coincidence that Maitland’s try came just five minutes after the change.
The way Scotland started gave the impression it was going to be an entertaining game, with Grant Gilchrist showing great handling skills by gathering the kick-off superbly, which set the tone for lots of early Scots possession.
Winger Blair Kinghorn made some hard yards up the wing and, once the ball came back inside, the Puma centre Matias Moroni was caught offside. With three minutes gone it allowed Laidlaw an easy penalty from in front of the posts.
Argentina earned what looked like an easy penalty from in front of the posts in nine minutes but Sanchez pulled the ball wide.
Two high kicks from Sanchez then put Hogg under massive pressure. One he managed to hold, the other he lost to Gonzalo Bertranou near his own line but the Puma did not take advantage.
Scotland had another let-off when Hastings managed to make up for having his own kick charged down by saving the day by touching down the loose ball behind his own line.
The fly-half was penalised in 22 minutes for a high tackle but Boffelli pulled his effort wide.
Russell had a rush of blood a minute later when he made a hash of trying to take a short re-start. The ball was picked off by the Argentines who went through the phases and it took Huw Jones to get back to touch down, with winger Moyano seconds behind.
Hooker Brown was lucky not to escape with a yellow card after a high and late tackle on Moyano.
Argentina were awarded a third penalty in 28 minutes after Scotland were penalised for playing the ball on the ground. This time, Sanchez put over the kick to open his side’s account.
Hastings then found space for a run through the middle, which resulted in a Scotland penalty converted by Laidlaw.
With the kicking game coming to the fore, Russell found touch with a magnificent touchline kick that pushed the opposition back. From then on, the game was stuck in midfield until the half-time whistle.
The first action of the second half saw Hastings give away a penalty that Sanchez put over to level the score. Eight minutes into the half, Sanchez missed a penalty that could have put his team ahead.
On the 50-minute mark, prop Simon Berghan and back row Josh Strauss were replaced by W P Nel and Ryan Wilson respectively to try to give Scotland fresh impetus.
It had an immediate effect with Hogg setting off up the wing and Maitland coming off the other to get involved. It ended with Agustin Creevy penalised for a high tackle on Jones, which allowed Laidlaw to put over his third penalty.
On the hour mark, Hastings came off with Russell moving to 10. Dunbar came on to play in the centre beside Jones. Stuart McInally came on for hooker Brown.
With 15 minutes left, Scotland made the breakthrough. They took play from one side of the pitch to the other before the ball was fed back to Hogg.
He played the ball down the short side when he saw the Argentines only had one defender out there. His pass took Jeronimo De La Fuente out of the game to allow
Maitland to score in the corner. Laidlaw missed the conversion.
Three minutes later, Sanchez missed yet another easy penalty.
Argentina then had another great chance to score, with a tackle on De La Fuente from Hogg and Sam Skinner saving the day as they forced him to knock on.
With seven minutes left, Sanchez put over a penalty from in front of the posts after Scotland collapsed the scrum.
As the match reached its climax, Rodrigo Bruni made a great break up the middle but was isolated, which allowed Scotland off the hook. With two minutes remaining, Laidlaw had the chance to make the game safe but his penalty came up short.
Thankfully for Scotland, that didn’t matter as they managed to pin Argentina back near their own line for the last few minutes to secure a narrow, nervous victory. SCORERS; Scotland — Try: Maitland. Pens: Laidlaw (3). Argentina — Pens: Sanchez (3). Referee: Paul Williams (NZ). Attendance: 67,000.