END OF AUTUMN REPORT CARD
Scotland end the Autumn on a high with comprehensive victory over Argentina
WELCOME: come Saturday afternoon there seemed to be a genuine sense of joy at Sold Out BT Murrayfield that has perhaps been missing of late. And although the foundations for victory were laid up front (and helped by a consistently ill disciplined opposition), there was one man at the centre of everything good that Scotland produced against Argentina. Finn Russell - it simply had to be.
This week we look back on a chaotic 80 minutes against the Argentinians, that saw no less than a dozen tries scored and 5 cards produced on the day, whilst also running the rule on Scotland’s autumn campaign on the whole.
50 UP - ARGENTINA MATCH REPORT: Scotland wrapped up their Autumn Series campaign with a record 52-29 win over 14-man Argentina, an inspired Finn Russell performance driving his side to just the eight tries on the day. The match itself was chaotic, kick started by Marco Kremer's early red card, and at one point the visitors had just 12 men on the pitch (obviously Scotland still managed to concede in this period). However, in what has been a difficult Autumn at points for Scottish supporters, it was heartening to see the national side play with a swagger and verve at points which have been somewhat missing of late.
After the home side fell behind to an early Boffelli penalty, Russell started to open his box of tricks, an audacious one handed off load putting Tuipulotu in the clear, who did extremely well to finish despite the attentions of numerous Argentinian defenders. However, the visitors were next on to the scoresheet, taking advantage of a missed clearance kick, which was perhaps Russell’s only real mistake on the day.
The match turned on the 23 minute mark, Argentina lock Kremer red carded for a wild, swinging arm clear out on Jamie Ritchie. It only took until the 24th minute for Scotland to take advantage of their numerical superiority, Finn once again the architect with a back door offload that Duhan did very well to collect and dot down. Russell then made a searing break through the midfield, offloading to the supporting Grant Gilchrist, before the ball eventually made its way to Darcy Graham for his first try of the day.
At this point it looked like Scotland were going to run away with it, but we all know that is not the way things work round these here parts. Ill discipline and lack of accuracy allowed Argentina to claw their way back into the contest, eventually diving over from close range to make the score 19-15 in favour of the Scots at half time.
Seemingly normal service resumed early in the second period, Finn with a half break and offload that released Hogg, who did well to send in Darcy for his second score.
But a madcap stanza then ensued, with two more Argentinian forwards sent to the sin bin. However this period ended all square at 7-7, Boffelli managing to cross after a Scottish attack broke down near halfway, countered by Tuipulotu’s second try of the afternoon. A desperate yet savvy Argentina then initiated a touchline brawl (well, plenty of jersey scragging and not a single punch thrown) that saw Jamie Ritchie sent to the bin, alongside replacement prop Thomas Gallo - all of a sudden 14 played 13.
But Scotland eventually managed to get to the half century, with further scores from Redpath (his first in national colours), Hogg and Darcy for his hat trick.
Get all that in the end?
Full highlights below:
END OF AUTUMN REPORT CARD:
Overall Grade: B-
On the face of it, two wins out of four, all against southern hemisphere opposition (and a missed penalty away from making it three), looks a reasonable return for the autumn. But ultimately, what did we really learn about this Scotland side in recent weeks that we didn’t know before?
The matches against New Zealand and Argentina perhaps reinforced one thing - Scotland need Finn Russell. He makes this team tick, and seems to bring the best out of the potentially world class performers we have throughout the side (Stuart Hogg for one has definitely looked happier across the last two matches). But everyone out there knew that already, right? To his credit, Kinghorn performed reasonably well against the Aussies, but in the end he only started one match at fly half during the series, with Adam Hastings lining up the following week against Fiji.
The 2023 World Cup is less than a year away - and stating the obvious, Townsend needs to stick with Russell. As Alan said on last week’s podcast, Mark Dodson’s most pressing job for the next 12 months is to ensure Toonie and Finn are at least on amicable terms ahead of the opening fixture against South Africa.
Up Front - B+
Scotland’s forwards battled well throughout the series, showing up particularly well against New Zealand, although they will have been disappointed not to dominate in week one versus Australia:
Grant Gilchrist is enjoying a fine Indian summer to his career: not many would have predicted him keeping Jonny Gray out of the boiler room
There was also an opportunity for some old timers to make their mark, most notably Richie Gray and Fraser Brown, who helped set the foundations for line out dominance against the All Blacks, and provide further options for Townsend he might have thought were past their sell by date1
Pierre Schoeman continues to prove his value at loosehead (albeit spare a thought for the injured Rory Sutherland), while Zander Fagerson appears to be recapturing the sort of form that got him a place on the last Lions tour
Newcomers Jack Dempsey, Glen Young and Murphy Walker add more depth to the forwards pool. Walker impressed at scrum time against the Fijians, while Young and Dempsey showed glimpses of their quality at points - although arguably Dempsey was not quite able to replicate his superb club form for the Warriors
Behind the Scrum - B+
Scotland has undoubted world class quality throughout its back line that at times feels underutilized. Hopefully a firmly ensconced Russell can bring the best out of Duhan, Hogg, Redpath, Tuipulotu etc.
Has the Kinghorn at 10 experiment been put on ice? BK10 did little wrong against Australia (that penalty aside), but to most observers it is obvious is best position is in the back three. Maybe he is the ultimate utility player, but surely not a candidate for the starting 10 jersey?
One player who seems to be thriving regardless of those players either side of him is Darcy Graham, who is absolutely flying at the moment. The so-called Prince of Hawick has carried his superlative early season club form onto the international stage, combining lethal finishing with an off the ball work rate that means he gets plenty of touches per match
Although the number 12 merry-go-round continues (with Thistle HQ favourite Cam Redpath quickly discarded after the Fiji match before being brought back into the fold against the Argies), Sione Tuipulotu arguably edged ahead of the chasing pack after strong performances against NZ and Argentina. His combination with Russell looked potent at points, although the Russell-Redpath partnership still sounds too good to ignore
When Duhan is in the mood (hint: give him the ball as much as possible), there are few wingers in world rugby as destructive in the carry
Ali Price put in a reasonable set of performances across the Autumn, but Ben White is certainly breathing down his neck, having shown up very well since his debut at the start of the year
Coaching: C-
To his credit, Townsend seems to have admitted his error and swallowed a decent slice of humble pie in welcoming back Finn to the national fold. But would a better coach have made this controversial decision in the first place? There are clearly two sides to every story, but arguably it is the job of the head coach to manage player personalities, especially when it concerns such a central individual. We should also spare a thought for Blair Kinghorn, who has been poorly managed after performing well against the Aussies in difficult circumstances
The jury remains slightly out on attack coach AB Zondagh, who has arguably failed to convince since joining the coaching ticket last year. However, there were promising signs against Argentina and NZ (although how much of this is down to coaching versus simply the return of Finn is difficult to say). The raw materials are certainly there…
John Dalziel continues to burnish his reputation as forwards coach, with the set piece generally solid throughout. How much of the decision to bring back Gray senior and Brown into the fold was his doing?
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NB Gray and Brown are the same age as all three members of The Thistle, none of whom consider themselves “old”
The Kinghorn experiment has proven that his best position is on the bench. Competitive on the wing and at fullback, and now we know he is relatively comfortable at 10.
I think this has all been world cup planning while simultaneously shooting a rocket up Finns arse.
Is Schoeman the second best fly half in Scotland? He showed some lovely Sinkler-like hands.
Price’s passing seemed very laboured and loopy in the last match - wonder if he has an injury.