Scotland come full circle after a dark day at Murrayfield

The manner of the home side’s capitulation prompted booing and walk-outs from some supporters who struggled to take in what they were seeing. Having led 21-0, Scotland proceeded to fold in the most alarming manner, conceding five tries in the final 24 minutes.

On Saturday the sides will meet again, for the first time since that dark November day. The autumn game has been referenced many times this week and, to be fair to the Scotland touring party in Cordoba, no-one has shied away from addressing it.

Sione Tuipulotu was the latest to front up and the captain had a typically honest take on the game which Argentina ended up winning 33-24. It is Tuipulotu’s belief that he learns more from losing a match than winning one and he feels the Pumas defeat prompted some necessary discourse within the squad.

“I think you guys have spoken to me a lot of times now over the last two or three years and know that I struggle to hide my emotions a little bit when it comes to losing,” said Tuipulotu during pre-match media duties. “But with this game specifically, I think it was such a landmark game for us that it forced a few conversations that I think needed to happen in the group. Maybe conversations that were, I suppose, always there in our vision but we refused to have them.

“In my career, losing a game has taught me more or has made me reflect on the group more in a proud way than sometimes winning has. Of course, I'm in a better mood when we win and everything's jolly and happy and everything like that. But sometimes those wins lead to something around the corner that's not good, whereas I’ve found that the losses in my career have led me on to good things, you know?

“So I think it's important that we look back on that game as obviously a painful experience for myself and I'm sure for the team and the coaches, but also a landmark for where we've gone on since then. So I would say it's bittersweet.”

There was more pain before it got better and the defeat by Italy in the Six Nations opener in monsoon conditions in Rome heaped more pressure on Gregor Townsend and his squad. However, the following week saw a performance full of character as England were beaten at Murrayfield and further victories followed against Wales and, most impressively of all, France. The championship ended with the now customary loss to Ireland but it was a campaign which suggested Scotland had indeed learned from the Argentina loss.

Now they find themselves facing up to the Pumas again but on their patch. The Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in Cordoba carries the name of Argentina's 1978 World Cup hero and it is also the venue where Ally MacLeod’s Scotland lost to Peru and drew with Iran in that same angst-ridden tournament.

‘We play a similar brand of rugby’

The national rugby team enjoyed better fortunes there, beating the Pumas 21-19 in 2014 when Vern Cotter was Scotland’s head coach. The closeness of the scoreline is reflective of the history of this fixture. The teams have met 23 times in official Test matches, with Argentina just having the edge on 12 wins compared to Scotland’s 11. Townsend also believes they are close in style. “We play a similar brand of rugby,” he said.

The coach has made some big selection calls for Scotland’s Nations Championship opener, most notably benching Zander Fagerson and Darcy Graham, both mainstays of the team for the best part of a decade. Elliot Millar Mills and Jamie Dobie start in their stead but it is likely that both Fagerson and Graham will still have important roles to play in the match.

Nevertheless, it feels significant. Townsend made a point of saying on Thursday that Fagerson has serious competition at tighthead and that is something that has not always been the case. It is also notable that he opted to select Dobie on the wing despite the Glasgow Warriors man not having played there since being injured against England in February. Townsend chose Dobie and Kyle Steyn as his first-choice wingers at the start of the Six Nations and has reverted to this for Cordoba.

Graham, who scored a try against Wales off the bench and a double when he started in the win over France, finds himself back on the pine. Duhan van der Merwe, meanwhile, is not even in the 23. The Edinburgh wingers are, of course, the Scotland men’s team’s all-time top try-scorers.

The match has come too soon for Finn Russell who has struggled with a calf injury and that means it is a big day for Tom Jordan who will start at 10 for Scotland for the first time. The Bristol Bears pivot is a pugnacious competitor and struck up an excellent understanding with Tuipulotu during their three years together at Scotstoun. How they dovetail on Saturday will shape Scotland’s attacking threat.

With Blair Kinghorn and Huw Jones absent from the tour, the door is open for Kyle Rowe and Rory Hutchinson to impress at full-back and outside centre, respectively. It should also be a special occasion for Scott Cummings and Pierre Schoeman, who will both win their 50th caps, and replacement hooker Gregor Hiddleston, who is likely to win his first.

Tuipulotu is expecting it to be fiery and passionate, both on the pitch and in the stands. “I feel somewhat alive in those environments when it's hostile and it's just you and the boys out there,” he said. “So I'm looking forward to it.”

Match details

Argentina v Scotland, Nations Championship, Estadio Mario Kempes, Cordoba, Saturday, 8.10pm. TV: live on ITV4.

Argentina: 15 Santiago Carreras; 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Faustino Sanchez Valarolo, 11 Mateo ⁠Carreras; 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Garcia; 1 Mayco Vivas, 2 Julian Montoya, 3 Pedro ⁠Delgado, 4 Guido Petti, 5 Matias Alemanno, 6 Pablo Matera, 7 Santiago Grondona, 8 Joaquin Oviedo. Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Tomas Rapetti, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Joaquin Moro, 21 Agustin Moyano, 22 Matias Moroni, 23 Bautista Delguy.

Scotland: 15 Kyle Rowe; 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (capt), 11 Jamie Dobie; 10 Tom Jordan, 9 Ben White; 1 Pierre Schoeman, 2 Ewan Ashman, 3 Elliot Millar Mills, 4 Jonny Gray, 5 Scott Cummings, 6 Matt Fagerson, 7 Rory Darge, 8 Jack Dempsey. Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Gregor Brown, 21, George Horne, 22 Fergus Burke, 23 Darcy Graham.

Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia).