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Gregor Townsend has warned his Scotland players they will face a dangerous Argentina side next weekend who are perhaps the most improved team in world rugby.
The Pumas have beaten South Africa, New Zealand and Australia in the Rugby Championship over the past year and now sit two places above Scotland in the world rankings.
Scotland will be aiming to bounce back after Saturday’s agonising defeat to the All Blacks, whilst Argentina looked mightily impressive in their 52-28 against Wales.
Felipe Contepomi’s side now head north to Murrayfield and Townsend is under no illusions about just how stiff a test awaits his Scotland team.
Insisting his players will need to step it up, the Scotland head coach said: ‘Argentina are respected by every country. I think they’re very well coached and Felipe Contepomi has done a very good job. They’ve got some of the best players in the world playing for teams throughout Europe.
‘Maybe that’s helped them, I don’t know, but when they had a Super Rugby team, they were obviously playing in a different season [in terms of their schedule].
Geronimo Prisciantelli is hailed after scoring his second try in Argentina's demolition of Wales
Prisciantelli makes it look all too easy as he eases away from the Welsh defence in Cardiff
Townsend must prepare his men to face what he has called the most improved' side in rugby
‘Now they’re playing at top clubs in Europe, so we know the threat. I think the way the game changed as well, with the more contested kicks, it suited their strengths.
‘They’ve got two or three excellent players in the air. We will need to be ready for that. I actually thought we were really good under the high ball against the All Blacks.
‘I think we won that battle and I want to mention Kyle Steyn and Darcy Graham in that regard. Contested kicks will be one of our biggest challenges again next week.
‘I think Argentina have had some really good teams over the years. They’re a really good side and we need to be ready for it.
‘They’ve been a top-eight side for a while. I think there’s a lot of teams that can beat each other now, top eight or top nine and ten as well when you include Fiji. We have to play very well.
‘On their day, Argentina are a top side. While it was very frustrating not to get the win against New Zealand, we’ve got another challenge up ahead pretty quickly.’
Steyn is likely to keep his place on the wing for the visit of the Pumas after his weekend try
Townsend is unlikely to make any sweeping changes for the visit of the Argentinians, with Kyle Steyn likely to retain his place on the wing ahead of Duhan van der Merwe.
Finn Russell is being assessed after picking up knee and ankle issues against the All Blacks, but Townsend seemed quietly confident that the fly-half would be fine to play next Sunday.
Zander Fagerson continues to make his way back from a long-term injury, but the final match of the autumn against Tonga may be a more realistic target for the Scotland tighthead.
‘With Zander, we’ll just see how he is,’ added Townsend. ‘His knee is better this week, so there’s been no reaction.
‘It’s probably more likely to be Tonga than Argentina. We want to build him up and really set him up for a strong second half of the season moving into the Six Nations.
‘With Finn, he told me he’s OK. He will be assessed by our medical team. It was such a physical game of rugby, but that’s what you expect against a top team like the All Blacks.’
