Scotland play host to Argentina on Sunday. The rugby test match is a vital fixture with an eye to the draw for Rugby World Cup 2027. Scotland occupy 8th spot in the Worlds Rankings while Argentina are 6th. The world’s top six, as of December 03, will be grouped in the top band for the draw for Australia 2027.
Scotland enter the match on strong form. Scotland opened November by humiliating the USA Eagles before pushing New Zealand a week later. Scotland had two wins and three losses in the 2025 Six Nations and a win over Samoa but a loss against Fiji on tour in July. The match against Argentina is the Scot’s third in November while it is Argentina’s second of the tour.
Argentina’s 2025 results are not dissimilar to Scotland’s. Los Pumas had two wins and four losses in the 2025 Rugby Championship and two wins and two losses in the mid-year internationals. Highs such as beating the British & Irish Lions, New Zealand and Australia are balanced with lows of home defeats to England and a heavy against South Africa in Durban.
Current World Ranking: 8 (81.21 points)
2025-11-08 – Scotland 17-25 New Zealand (Edinburgh, GB-SCT)
2025-11-01 – Scotland 85-0 USA (Edinburgh, GB-SCT)
2025-07-18 – Samoa 12-41 Scotland (Auckland, NZ)
2025-07-12 – Fiji 29-14 Scotland (Suva, FJ)
2025-07-05 – Maori All Blacks 26-29 Scotland (Whangarei, NZ)
2025-03-15 – France 35-16 Scotland (Paris, FR)
2025-03-08 – Scotland 35-29 Wales (Edinburgh, GB-SCT)
Current World Ranking: 6 (84.30 points)
2025-11-09 – Wales 28-52 Argentina (Cardiff, GB-CYM)
2025-09-27 – Argentina 27-29 South Africa (London, GB-ENG)
2025-09-27 – South Africa 67-30 Argentina (Durban, ZA)
2025-09-13 – Australia 26-28 Argentina (Sydney, AU)
2025-08-23 – Australia 28-24 Argentina (Townsville, AU)
2025-08-23 – Argentina 29-23 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)
2025-08-16 – Argentina 24-41 New Zealand (Córdoba, AR)
2025-07-19 – Argentina 52-17 Uruguay (Salta, AR)
2025-07-12 – Argentina 17-22 England (San Juan, AR)
2025-07-05 – Argentina 12-35 England (La Plata, AR)
2025-06-20 – British & Irish Lions 24-28 Argentina (Dublin, IE)
 + STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 7 | Rory Darge | Matt Fagerson |
|
IN | OUT |
| 5 | Pedro Rubiolo | Marcos Kremer |
| 6 | Santiago Grondona | Pablo Matera |
| 13 | Matías Moroni | Justo Piccardo |
| 14 | Rodrigo Isgró | Bautista Delguy |
| 15 | Juan Cruz Mallía | Santiago Carreras |
| + MOST CAPS |
– F Russell (88), G Gilchrist (83), B Kinghorn (61), M Fagerson (58), D van der Merwe (50), D Graham (49), G Turner (48), S Cummings (44)
– P Matera (119), J Montoya (115), G Petti (96), M Moroni (92), S Carreras (62), JM González (49), JC Mallía (49)
| + LEAST CAPS |
– N McBeth (4), D Rae (4), R Hutchinson (10), T Jordan (10), E Millar Mills (10), G Brown (11), J Bayliss (12), J Dobie (16)
– E Elías (1), G Prisciantelli (3), A Moyano (6), F Coria Marchetti (7), P Delgado (7), S Benítez Cruz (8), J Piccardo (9), R Isgró (14)
| + NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Rory Sutherland (LH)
– Eduardo Bello (TH), Joel Sclavi (TH), Franco Molina (LO), Marcos Kremer (FL), Gonzalo García (SH), Tomás Albornoz (FH), Lucio Cinti (CE), Bautista Delguy (WI).
EWAN ASHMAN (HOOKER)
“It’s massive. The next job is that we need to win the rest of our games. The next two games have to be wins, so we’ll take the learnings and go out and perform. I think it probably comes down to just not finishing those big opportunities. I got held up two or three times (against New Zealand), and then when we get into that five yards we have to just be brutal, be clinical.”
FELIPE CONTEPOMI (HEAD COACH)
“We are very blessed of having this opportunity to play, like last weekend for me three of the best, rugby stadiums in the world. When you speak about Murrayfield and all the history there it will be a sold out stadium so fo us it is a great opportunity and we embrace that opportunity because it doesn’t come every year… It will mean a lot because the guys haven’t won there and for the guys who experience Murrayfield for the first time, I think it will be a great occasion.”
- The match is Los Pumas’ first match in Scotland under Head Coach Felipe Contepomi.
- The four most recent matches between Scotland and Argentina were all in 2022. Los Pumas won a home series with wins in Jujuy and Santiago del Estero while Scotland won in Salta and Edinburgh.
- Argentina last won in Scotland in 2009. Felipe Contepomi was captain but missed the tour through injury. Fullback, Martín Rodríguez Gurruchaga, played out of position and kicked the winning drop goal.
- Scotland winger Darcy Graham will earn his 50th cap. He debuted for Scotland in 2018.
- Scotland prepared for the match without Arron Reed, Rory Sutherland and Murphy Walker.
- Fly half Finn Russell has been deemed fit following an early exit against New Zealand. He and Josh Bayliss are teammates for Bath with Argentina’s Santiago Carreras.
- Fellow English Premiership clubs Harlequins and Bristol Bears also have players on both teams. George Turner, Rodrigo Isgró and Pedro Delgado are Quins while Tom Jordan, Santiago Grondona, Pedro Rubiolo and Matías Moroni play for Bristol Bears.
- 15 of Scotland’s 23 players play for United Rugby Championship (URC) teams in Scotland. This includes all 8 starting forwards.Thomas Gallo is only member of Argentina’s 23 players currently playing in the URC.
- Veteran Matías Moroni earns his 93rd cap. He is back for the first time since facing Uruguay in July.
- Efraín Elías earns his second cap. He debuted in the win over New Zealand in 2024. The second-rower is one of four Toulouse players in the match. The others are Argentine center Santiago Chocobares, fullback Juan Cruz Mallía and Scotland fullback Blair Kinghorn.
- Felipe Contepomi opted to rest Marcos Kremer. He had a knock against Wales but would be fine to play. He is coming off seven consecutive matches: vs South Africa in Durban and London, four for Clermont and vs Wales in Cardiff. For this reason, he so is being rested ahead of the match against England.
- Pablo Matera will become the first Pumas to reach 120 caps. He will do so as a replacement.
- Flanker Juan Martín González and fullback Juan Cruz Mallía both complete 50 caps for Argentina. They debuted for Argentina in 2021 and 2018 respectively.
- Scotland is captained by Australian born and raised center, Sione Tuipulotu.
- Tuipulotu leads a team with a majority of foreign-Born players and 47.83% homegrown players. Ewan Ashman, Josh Bayliss, Jack Dempsey, Rory Hutchinson, Tom Jordan, Nathan McBeth, Elliot Millar Mills, Pierre Schoeman, Kyle Steyn, Sione Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe and Ben White are not Scotland rugby products. Dempsey and White previously played for Australia and England respectively.
- Argentina has a 100% homegrown team. All 23 players were born and raised in Argentina.
- If Argentina win by 15+ they will gain 1.49 in World Rankings points. A closer Pumas victory will see a 0.99 gain. Conversely, if Scotland win by 15+ they will gain 1.51 points and a win by less would see Scotland gaining 1.01 in the World Rankings.
It has been a cold and wet week for the players in Edinburgh; however, this is forecast to change with a sunny match day on Sunday. The match could go either way as both teams have played excellent rugby during the course of the past year. The teams both have coaches well into their groove and there are world-class players on both teams. Free-running rugby is expected from both the hosts and visitors. Argentina are slight favorites to win in Edinburgh.
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
Date: Sunday, November 16
Kickoff: 3:10pm (Wales); 12:10pm (Argentina)
Venue: Murrayfield, Edinburgh (Scotland)
Broadcasts: ESPN, Disney + (Argentina)
Weather Forecast: Cold and Sunny; 7°C. Wind N km/h.
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Angus Gardner (Australia); Luke Pearce (Wales)
Television Match Official: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
Split Screen/FPRO: Leo Colgan (Ireland
| HISTORY vs (1969-2022) |
Nov 19, 2022 – Scotland 52-29 Argentina (Edinburgh, GB-SCO)
Jul 16, 2022 – Argentina 34-31 Scotland (Santiago del Estero, AR)
Jul 09, 2022 – Argentina 06-29 Scotland (Salta, AR)
Jul 02, 2022 – Argentina 26-18 Scotland (Jujuy, AR)
Nov 24, 2018 – Scotland 14-09 Argentina (Edinburgh, GB-SCO)
Jun 23, 2018 – Argentina 15-44 Scotland (Resistencia, AR)
Nov 19, 2016 – Scotland 19-16 Argentina (Edinburgh, GB-SCO)
Nov 08, 2014 – Scotland 41-31 Argentina (Edinburgh, GB-SCO)
Jun 21, 2014 – Argentina 19-21 Scotland (Córdoba, AR)
Sep 25, 2011 – Argentina 13-12 (Wellington, NZ)
Jun 19, 2010 – Argentina 09-13 Scotland (Mar del Plata, AR)
Jun 12, 2010 – Argentina 16-24 Scotland (Tucumán, AR)
Nov 28, 2009 – Scotland 06-09 Argentina (Edinburgh, GB-SCO)
Jun 14, 2008 – Argentina 14-26 Scotland (Buenos Aires, AR)
Jun 07, 2008 – Argentina 21-15 Scotland (Rosario, AR)
Oct 07, 2007 – Argentina 19-13 Scotland (Paris, FR)
Nov 12, 2005 – Scotland 19-23 Argentina (Edinburgh, GB-SCO)
Nov 18, 2001 – Scotland 16-25 Argentina (Edinburgh, GB-SCO)
Aug 21, 1999 – Scotland 22-31 Argentina (Edinburgh, GB-SCO)
Jun 11, 1994 – Argentina 19-17 Scotland (Buenos Aires, AR)
Jun 04, 1994 – Argentina 16-15 Scotland (Buenos Aires, AR)
Nov 10, 1990 – Scotland 49-03 Argentina (Edinburgh, GB-SCO)
Nov 24, 1973 – Scotland 12-11 Argentina Edinburgh, GB-SCO)
Sep 27, 1969 – Argentina 3-6 Scotland (Buenos Aires, AR)
Sep 13, 1969 – Argentina 20-3 Scotland (Buenos Aires, AR)
| vs OVERALL RESULTS |
– 13 WINS
– 12 WINS
