Scotland Suffer Dramatic Collapse, Fall to Argentina 33-24 After Blowing 21-Point Lead
MURRAYFIELD, SCOTLAND – Scotland squandered a commanding 21-point advantage to fall to a stunning 33-24 defeat against Argentina at Murrayfield on Saturday. The hosts, who led comfortably at the break, were overwhelmed in the second half as the Pumas mounted a remarkable comeback, scoring four tries in the final quarter to secure their first victory at Murrayfield since 2009.
Scotland were forced into a late team change with scrum-half Ben White replaced by Jamie Dobie due to illness. The match began poorly for Argentina, as full-back juan Cruz Mallia received a yellow card in the 5th minute for a purposeful knock-on, intercepting a pass intended for Dobie.
Scotland capitalized on the numerical advantage,with Darcy Graham set up by Finn Russell to score the game’s opening try in the 13th minute while Mallia was in the sin bin. Russell added the conversion. Ashman then extended the lead in the 28th minute, finishing off a move started by Dobie, with Russell again converting. Before halftime, Ashman scored his second try of the match in the 44th minute, again assisted by Dobie, and Russell completed his perfect kicking record for the day with the conversion, pushing Scotland’s lead to 21-0.
Though, the momentum shifted dramatically after the interval. An intercepted pass from Russell led to Scotland full-back Kinghorn being sin-binned in the 54th minute for a cynical offside. Argentina seized the opportunity,with hooker Julian Montoya scoring in the 57th minute after a lengthy TMO review,converted by Santiago Carreras. Wing Rodrigo Isgro followed up with a try in the 60th minute, though Carreras missed the conversion.
Russell briefly steadied Scottish nerves with a penalty in the 64th minute, making the score 24-12, just as Kinghorn returned to the pitch. But Argentina continued to press, with lock Pedro rubiolo scoring under the posts in the 70th minute (conversion by Carreras), narrowing the gap to five points.
The Pumas then completed their incredible turnaround, scoring two further tries in rapid succession. Substitute Pablo Matera was awarded a try in the 75th minute following another TMO check,with carreras converting to give Argentina the lead for the first time,26-24. Justo Piccardo then added a final try in the 79th minute, also converted by Carreras, sealing a 33-24 victory for the visitors.
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