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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Gavin McCafferty

Key talking points as Scotland face series decider against Argentina

Gregor Townsend

SCOTLAND take on Argentina in the final match of their summer tour on Saturday.

The Test series is tied at 1-1 ahead of the deciding encounter.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the key talking points ahead of the game in Santiago Del Estero.

Winner takes all

Scotland were under pressure after a poor first-half performance in the opening Test led to a 26-18 defeat. They responded emphatically by running in four tries in 27 minutes during a 29-6 victory in the second Test, gaining control of the contest just before half-time.

Improvements demanded

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend wants the same togetherness, energy in attack and contact work, which he described as one of the best his team had produced. But he marked last Saturday’s performance as six out of 10 and called for greater accuracy throughout the 80 minutes, pointing out that a number of passes went astray and set-pieces did not go to plan for much of the first half.

Hot shot Hamish

Hamish Watson will wear the armband (Nigel French/PA)

Flanker Hamish Watson will captain Scotland for the first time on Saturday, seven days after winning his 50th cap. With a number of experienced players staying at home this summer, the 30-year-old was included in Townsend’s leadership group and has revelled in the added responsibility.

A test of depth

Ollie Smith will make his debut (Steve Welsh/PA)

Townsend has made eight changes following the second Test, the vast majority of them optional, although backs Darcy Graham, Rory Hutchinson and Kyle Rowe are injured. Ollie Smith will win his first cap, with the 21-year-old Glasgow full-back looking to make the sort of impact that saw him score two tries in a six-minute cameo against La Rochelle. Townsend has again changed his second row, with Jonny Gray and Scott Cummings coming in and lock Edinburgh lock Glen Young looking for a debut off the bench.

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