Having been trailing 21-0 in the second-half, Argentina showed tremendous character to complete an unlikely come-from-behind victory. With the injection of replacements, Los Pumas came back from the dead to defeat Scotland 33-24 at Murrayfield on Sunday.
VS MATCH REPORT |
Scotland were well on top of Argentina in the opening half. It started with a Scottish break seeing Juan Cruz Mallía yellow carded for slapping the ball down. The home side made the one-man-advantage count as Finn Russell put Australian Jack Dempsey through a hole to score. Russell converted for a 7-0 lead.
It became 14-0 on 27 minutes. Scotland were hot on attack deep inside the Argentine 22. Jamie Dobie combined with Ewan Ashman for the Canadian-born, English-raised hooker to score. Argentine defenders Pedro Rubiolo and Joaquín Oviedo collided while tackling Ashman.
Meanwhile, Argentina were committing errors while on attack. On one occasion Santiago Chocobares went close but lost the ball. On another, Matías Moroni broke clear and passed to Matías Carreras who knocked-on near the try zone. In addition, an attacking lineout was ruled a free-kick to Scotland.
The second-half started similarly. Runs from Ewan Ashman, Pierre Schoeman and Kyle Steyn had the home side looking ominous inside the Argentine 22. Quick ball then saw Ashman arriving at pace again to power over. Russell converted for a 21-0 lead after 43 minutes.
When Gerónimo Prisciantelli failed to find touch from a penalty, Los Pumas looked dead and buried. Felipe Contepomi then went to the replacements and the changed halves duo of Agustin Moyano and Santiago Carreras succeeded in chasing the complexion of the contest.
Passes were now sticked and players were now finding holes. Raids from the forwards saw Pablo Matera and Thomas Gallo both stopped inches short. Captain Julián Montoya then went over to down the ball on the try line. Santiago Carreras converted on 56 minutes for a 21-7 scoreline.
Los Pumas won the kick-off and spun the ball. Matías Moroni made good ground down the left. Thomas Gallo then made a half-break and Juan Cruz Mallía another. Argentina quickly found themselves in the Scottish 22. Eight phases followed before Moyano combined with Rodrigo Isgró who powered over Finn Russell to score.
Scotland won a penalty following the restart. Finn Russell made it 24-12 on 64 minutes. It was the only Scottish score of the half. Los Pumas hit-back with a try. After twelve phases, Los Pumas won a penalty and went for a set-move. After five phases, Pedro Rubiolo scored under the posts.
Argentina turned a defensive scrum into an opportunity on 73 minutes. Santiago Carreras ran down the blind side and passed to Mateo Carreras. The latter was tackled 10 meters out from Scotland’s try zone. After twelve phases of raids, Pablo Matera scored under the posts.
Santiago Carreras converted for a 26-24 lead. After the restart he gained kicked deep into Scotland territory. Scotland won their own lineout but Argentina subsequently won turnover. From there the ball went left and Justo Piccardo burst though a tackle and past two other defenders to seal the win. Santiago Carreras landed the difficult conversion.
- Mateo Carreras made 104 meters in carries. He also there match high of 6 defenders beaten.
- Jack Dempsey was the top defender in the match with 22/23 tackles.
- Darcy Graham and Matías Moroni each had 2 clean line breaks.
- It was Argentina’s biggest ever comeback victory. (21 point deficit).
- Santiago Carreras was named Man of the Match.
- Darcy Graham earned his 50th cap. He debuted for Scotland in 2018.
- Pablo Matera became the first Puma to reach 120 caps.
- Flanker Juan Martín González and fullback Juan Cruz Mallía both completed 50 caps for Argentina. They debuted for Argentina in 2021 and 2018 respectively.
- Scotland ‘s captain, Sione Tuipulotu is Australian born and raised. Ewan Ashman, Josh Bayliss, Jack Dempsey, Rory Hutchinson, Tom Jordan, Nathan McBeth, Elliot Millar Mills, Pierre Schoeman, Kyle Steyn, and Duhan van der Merwe are also not Scotland rugby products. Dempsey previously played for Australia.
- Argentina fielded a 100% homegrown team. All 23 players were born and raised in Argentina.
- Argentina’s win gives Los Pumas a 0.99 gain in World Rankings. It means Argentina are safe in the top Band for the Rugby World Cup 2027 draw in December.
Foto: Prensa UAR
SCOTLAND
TRY – J Dempsey (11′); E Ashman 2 (27′, 43′)
CON – F Russell 3/3 (12′, 27′, 43′)
PEN – F Russell 1/1 (64′)
YC – B Kinghorn (54′)
ARGENTINA
TRY – J Montoya (55′); R Isgró (60′); P Rubiolo (69′); P Matera (74′); J Piccardo (79′)
CON – S Carreras 4/5 (56′, 70′, 75′, 80′)
PEN – JC Mallía 0/2
YC – JC Mallía (4′)
SCOTLAND
1 Pierre Schoeman, 2 Ewan Ashman, 3 D’arcy Rae, 4 Scott Cummings, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 6 Gregor Brown, 7 Rory Darge (vice-capt.), 8 Jack Dempsey, 9 Ben White, 10 Finn Russell, 11 Kyle Steyn, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (capt.), 13 Rory Hutchinson, 14 Darcy Graham, 15 Blair Kinghorn
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Josh Bayliss, 20 Matt Fagerson, 21 Jamie Dobie, 22 Tom Jordan, 23 Duhan van der Merwe
ARGENTINA
1 Mayco Vivas, Julián Montoya (capt.), 3 Pedro Delgado, 4 Guido Petti, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 6 Santiago Grondona, 7 Juan Martín González, 8 Joaquín Oviedo, 9 Simón Benítez Cruz, 10 Gerónimo Prisciantelli, 11 Mateo Carreras, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 13 Matías Moroni, 14 Rodrigo Isgró, 15 Juan Cruz Mallía (vice-capt.)
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Thomas Gallo, 18 Francisco Coria Marchetti, 19 Efraín Elías, 20 Pablo Matera (vice-capt.), 21 Agustín Moyano, 22 Santiago Carreras, 23 Justo Piccardo
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Angus Gardner (Australia); Luke Pearce (Wales)
Television Match Official: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
Split Screen/FPRO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)
