Puma pack has lost its mystique
Scotland will look to score a rare hat-trick when they meet Argentina in a crunch World Cup Pool B match in Wellington on Sunday.
The game, likely to decide the group runners-up, could see Scotland record three successive victories over the Pumas for the first time ever.
In their previous meetings, dating back to 1990, Scotland have scored just four wins – with the victories in Argentina last year the first time they recorded back-to-back triumphs over the Pumas.
At the World Cup in New Zealand the Scots have notched up two wins from two games played, beating Romania (34-24) and Georgia (15-6), while Los Pumas lost to England (9-13) before rebounding to beat the Romanians (43-8).
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Scottish hooker Ross Ford said that the vaunted Argentina pack had lost some of its mystique since he and his Scottish teammates met them head-to-head last year and came out on top.
“We’ve scrummmaged well against them in the past,” Ford said.
“There’s not so much mystique about it. We just have to be switched on and have the right mindset to do a job.
“We take it one game at a time. It’s pointless worrying about permutations or what will happen. We’re in control of how our pool goes in regard to us winning games.
“We’ve got to turn up on the pitch in the right mindset to front up again.”
But Scotland analyst Gavin Scott warned that the team would have to be at the top of their playing mettle to overcome an Argentinian side that really turned on the power in their game against Romania.
“Every time we play Argentina, they’re a good team, a well-balanced side with a strong pack and an exciting backline as well,” said Scott, a former Scotland ‘A’ hooker.
“I don’t think Argentina have fired on all cylinders this tournament but certainly the back three in different parts of different games have shown how dangerous they can be.”
Scott added: “We’ve played Argentina a lot over the last few years and we know them as a good side.
“There’s a good camaraderie between the two teams as well, with us having been to Argentina a couple of times recently and them having visited us.
“We know them pretty well as a team and they know us pretty well as a team. It’ll be a great match on Sunday.”
Scott said that Scotland, who managed a first south hemisphere Test series win last summer when they won both matches against Los Pumas on Argentinian soil, would now have to up the ante after a relatively easy introduction to pool play.
“In some ways we’ve been fortunate in that we’ve not had a top four or top six side in one of our really early games, so we’ve been able to take a bit of time,” he said.
“But that time has now run out and it’s time for us to play and perform.
“Without being too cliched, our next game is always our biggest game. We can never afford to be in a position where we can under perform.
“We need to perform always at our best no matter what opposition we play, be it Georgia, Romania, or teams like Argentina or England.
“We are under no illusions that we have to play well as a 22-man squad in order to beat anybody. This is the biggest game for us in however long.”
AFP
