Scotland out for revenge over Pumas
Scotland will take a look back at the way they defeated Argentina twice away last year, as they bid to edge past the Pumas into the World Cup quarterfinals, when the two teams meet in a Pool B match in Wellington on Sunday.
It was the South Americans who ended Scotland’s World Cup campaign at the quarterfinal stage four years ago in France, the only previous time the two have met in the competition.
But the two wins in Argentina, Scotland’s first southern hemisphere series win, has give Andy Robinson and his men renewed hope they can turn the tables and maintain their record of always reaching the quarterfinals of the World Cup.
“We’ll obviously look at the three games we’ve played against them in the past two years and look at the things we did well in the two matches we won, and the things we’ve learned since then that we think will bring us rewards on Sunday,” said assistant coach Gregor Townsend on Monday.
The Scots have failed to impress so far in wins over Romania and Georgia, but they start the game in Wellington with nine points to Argentina’s five, following the Pumas’ opening loss to England.
A loss for Argentina would almost certainly end their World Cup, while in case of defeat, Scotland would always have a chance to make amends against England in Auckland on Saturday week.
Townsend said he had been impressed by what he had seen from Argentina so far.
“Against England and Romania they showed what they can do when they’ve got the ball. They’ve got some really good runners out the back,” he said.
“They have that huge pack that will challenge you everywhere and they create a lot of freedom.
“They showed that they move the ball around. They showed that a lot against England, against a very good England defence.
“They are big-game players, they love the World Cup and they love challenges against higher-ranked sides.”
Centre Graeme Morrison believes that the 10-day turnaround Scotland are currently enjoying since the win over Georgia could prove to be helpful if they can hit top form.
“To beat the Argentineans we have to be at the top of our game. Fortunately we’ll have had a 10-day turnaround, which will help us nail a few things down,” he said.
“We have to turn it on on the weekend.
“It’s undoubtedly a huge game. It’s certainly the biggest game in some of our players’ lives. It could effectively dictate for both teams whether or not we progress in the tournament.”
AFP
