Townsend’s Scotland in troubled waters after collapse

Scotland have added new dimensions and layers to their games in recent times, but what has never been eradicated is their soft underbelly.

It was brutally exposed by an Argentina side who should have been dead and buried long before their epic comeback.

Murrayfield was shell-shocked at the end, struggling to comprehend how this Scotland team managed to take a 21-0 lead against a Pumas side looking way below their best and proceed to conjure the most spectacular of meltdowns to lose by eight points.

Argentina looked a pale imitation of the side that walloped Wales in record-breaking fashion in Cardiff, and Scotland were in complete control for the first 50 minutes.

They constructed three excellent tries, two from Ewan Ashman and one from Jack Dempsey.

At 21-0 up, they were camped on the Argentina line, looking to go for the jugular. But, as has been the case far too many times, rather than landing the killer blow, Scotland extended a hand to help their opponents off the canvas.

Finn Russell’s unnecessary long looping pass was picked off, the Pumas broke downfield, Blair Kinghorn was sent to the bin for illegally halting the attack, and Julian Montoya went over to breathe new life into what had seemed a moribund contest.

The great teams, the best teams in the world, manage these moments. They take the sting out the game. Scotland are not built like that. They lack the nous, the game understanding, the mentality to squeeze the life out of a match that should be firmly in their grasp.

It was reminiscent of Cardiff and the 2024 Six Nations, when Scotland raced into a 27-0 lead and looked for all the world like they were on course for a romp to victory until the slightest hint of resistance spread panic throughout the entire team.

On that day, they managed to pull themselves back from the edge of the cliff to win by a point, but the Pumas were in no mood to let them off the hook here.

After Damien McKenzie climbed off the bench to break Scottish hearts against the All Blacks last week, another substitute entered the fray in the second half to steal the show.

Santiago Carreras was like a man possessed, popping up in every attack, finding gaps in a tiring Scottish defence and inspiring his team to move through the gears.

When Justo Piccardo went over to put the seal on a stunning comeback for the visitors, the Murrayfield faithful headed for the exits. They had seen enough on this particular day, and many have seen enough of this team struggling to kick on under Gregor Townsend.

The head coach cut a disconsolate figure at full-time. He admitted it simply was not good enough, that his team failed to handle the momentum swing at 21-0, and they simply have to be better.

The issue is it is the same problems that are cropping up again and again. There is no comfort to be taken from playing well for chunks of games, from creating numerous opportunities and not converting, from running big teams close but not winning.

Townsend rejects the suggestion that his team lacks the mentality required to win the biggest games, but the evidence is not in his favour.

Two crucial World Cup pool games against Ireland, in 2019 and 2023, remain fresh in the mind. When the pressure was at its height, when the big players and teams are expected to really step up, Scotland crumbled.

They have delivered big, one-off victories in the Six Nations, but in the eight years on Townsend’s watch, when the moment in the campaign has arrived to kick on and properly challenge, they have foundered.

Townsend had his contract extended to lead the team through the 2027 World Cup in Australia, with the bosses at Scottish Rugby convinced that this side is on the cusp of something good.