Scotland produced a polished seven-try performance to defeat Argentina 47-38 in a high-scoring Nations Championship opener on Saturday.
The visitors ran in three tries before the break and four after to secure a convincing victory over an Argentina side, who had beaten Scotland 33-24 at Murrayfield just nine months ago, after coming from 21-0 down.
Captain Sione Tuipulotu, prop Pierre Schoeman and centre Rory Hutchinson had the Scots 19-10 up at half-time, with Gregor Brown, Scott Cummings, debutant Gregor Hiddlestone and Kyle Rowe adding further scores after the interval. Fergus Burke and Tom Jordan contributed three conversions apiece.
Argentina, who opened the scoring through Joaquin Oviedo's seventh-minute try from a lineout maul, responded with five tries of their own from Rodrigo Isgro, Thomas Rapetti, Lucio Cinti and Agustin Moyano. Tomas Albornoz converted all five and added a penalty.
Scotland quickly found their rhythm, going through 14 phases before Tuipulotu crossed the line in the 17th minute. Schoeman's powerful surge over the line five minutes later was set up by Rowe's break, while Hutchinson's try came from a strong scrum platform and a cleverly timed pass from the captain.
Argentina reduced the deficit three minutes into the second half when Santiago Carreras's grubber kick allowed winger Isgro to score, but Scotland reasserted their lead as replacement Brown touched down from a maul in the 51st minute.
Cummings propelled Scotland further ahead four minutes later, and although Rapetti scored with 25 minutes remaining, the visitors responded almost immediately through Hiddlestone, followed by Rowe's try on the wing five minutes later to seal a comfortable advantage.
Argentina belatedly showed some fight in the final 14 minutes when Cinti scored their fourth try, securing a bonus point, and Moyano added another in the last minute, but the damage had already been done.
"We knew it was going to be pretty similar to what we faced in the autumn and we knew there was going be a point in the game where we had to wrestle back momentum," said Scotland Captain Tuipulotu.
Argentina Captain Julian Montoya was scathing in his assessment. "We weren't good enough, the intensity and urgency weren't there. We lost every contest in the air and the crumbs on the floor, and the maul wasn't good either," he said.
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Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 24th July, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Russian authorities said 11 people, including four children, had been killed by Ukraine in an overnight attack on a holiday camp, accusing Kyiv on Saturday of deliberately targeting civilians.
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Spain has declared a national emergency and evacuated more than 10,000 people after uncontrolled wildfires reached the outskirts of Madrid. Emergency crews have rescued residents as multiple blazes continue to spread across the region.
Six candidates vying to become the next United Nations Secretary-General have called for restoring the organisation's credibility, strengthening multilateralism and reforming the UN, during the first public town hall debate ahead of a decisive Security Council vote next week.
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Russian authorities said 11 people, including four children, had been killed by Ukraine in an overnight attack on a holiday camp, accusing Kyiv on Saturday of deliberately targeting civilians.
U.S. President Donald Trump says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Washington next week as tensions continue to rise across the Middle East.
Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto recently offered the dismissed Ukraine’s Defence Minister, Mykhailo Federov an adviser role in Italy.
Romania said on Saturday that it had shot down a second drone after it entered the country's airspace in as many days.
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