Preview:Scotland vs. Argentina - prediction, team news, lineups

Scotland will look to return to winning ways when they battle Argentina in the Quilter Nations Series on Sunday, November 16. 

The visitors are seeking their back-to-back wins for the first time this year, while the hosts’ recent domination of this fixture is something they would want to continue. 

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Match preview

Scotland’s end-of-year season started spectacularly with a confidence-boosting 85-0 hammering of the USA. 

Momentum was in favour of the hosts last weekend, when they marked their 120 years of competition against the All Blacks. 

When New Zealand went into the break with a 17-0 lead, nobody would have imagined the fight that the home side demonstrated in the second period. 

The Scots scored 17 points to level matters with just 20 minutes till the final whistle, when the All Blacks dotted down for a late try, while a penalty sealed the result for the visitors. 

Gregor Townsend would have been impressed by what he saw from his troops last weekend and has surely asked them to deliver more of the same against Argentina. 

Scotland’s recent record against the Argentinians is positive, with 10 victories in their last 14 tests, after they had only won one of the first eight meetings between the nations. 

Consistency has been the primary issue for Argentina this year, since they have not strung together two wins in a row. 

They were excellent against Wales last week, winning the match 52-28 and scooping both halves of rugby. 

Head coach Felipe Contepomi will hope his side can rediscover the form they produced when registering victories against New Zealand and Australia in the Rugby Championship earlier this year. 

However, Los Pumas have an unwanted record of having never won a match at Murrayfield against Scotland. 

Both teams have exchanged dramatic wins since the hosts’ series triumph in Salta back in 2022, and with exciting brands of rugby at both ends, this is one to watch, especially for the neutral. 

Scotland Quilter Nations Series form:

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Scotland form (all competitions): 

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Argentina Quilter Nations Series form:

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Argentina form (all competitions): 

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Team News

The hosts will be without Arron Reed (quad), while Rory Sutherland has to follow World Rugby’s 12-day protocol for concussion. 

Coach Townsend will be depending on Blair Kinghorn's ability to gain metres, as he ranks first among 110 players with at least 400 minutes under the belt, with an average of 99.2 metres per 80 minutes. 

Meanwhile, Darcy Graham is ranked first for the highest average line breaks, with 1.9 per 80 minutes, and he will mark his 50th cap for his country when he runs out at Murrayfield this Sunday. 

The only change in the starting XV sees vice-captain Rory Darge hop into the back row, while Matt Fagerson starts from the bench. 

Argentina’s Contepomi has made five changes to his starting XV for this weekend’s clash, leaving World Rugby’s leading points scorer for the year, Santiago Carreras, on the bench. 

The Bath star will be replaced by Juan Cruz Mallia, who will be securing his 50th test cap, a feat he shares with Juan Martin Gonzalez.

Scotland starting lineup:

15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Kyle Steyn, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Gregor Brown, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Darcy Rae, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman

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 starting lineup:

15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 9 Simon Benitez Cruz, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Santiago Grondona, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Pedro Delgado, 2 Julian Montoya (captain), 1 Mayco Vivas

Replacements:

16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Thomas Gallo, 18 Francisco Coria Marchetti, 19 Efrain Elias, 20 Pablo Matera, 21 Agustin Moyano, 22 Santiago Carreras, 23 Justo Piccardo

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Head To Head

These sides have met 24 times before this weekend, with the hosts just shaving the edge with 13 victories compared to the Pumas' 11. 

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We say: Scotland 22-18 Argentina

 

Home advantage will play a huge role on Sunday, but Scotland's performance last weekend against the All Blacks suggests that they are going to give everything in this one to maintain their recent dominance over Argentina.