Scotland coach, Andy Robinson, has been quick to cover his side in praise as they fought hard to keep Argentina from coming back during the second test match over the weekend.
Scotland scraped through to a second win against the Pumas and Argentina will be greatly encouraged by the way the side responded from the first game. The match was a very tight affair, which became a tale of who had the better defensive side.
Scotland just managed to create a little bit more, which allowed them to create a try scoring chance that they took advantage of. Argentina tried to rally but Scotland did well in getting numbers behind the ball and making it very difficult for the home team to break them down.
Scotland still need to up their game in a variety of different areas and this is something Robinson says he wants to address within the next couple of weeks. Argentina can be happy as they are still trying to prove themselves as a developing rugby nation against much better sides.
Tight Match
It seems that this game was going to stay as a very tight match, which was dictated by the kickers on both teams. For the large part this was correct as each end of the field became bogged with bodies at various points in the game.
Neither side had a tremendous amount of pace, which meant it was difficult to get the ball out wide to the fast players who would be able to burst through opposition defence and score tries.
However, it seemed that Scotland were able to keep their concentration for slightly longer. Jim Hamilton snapped up the one great try scoring chance that Scotland had and ultimately this led to the points needed to edge the Scottish over the winning line.
Robinson will want his side to be a lot more attacking and free flowing in future matches. The better sides in international rugby will love it if a team tries to bog up the pitch and make the game ugly. This allows key players to get stuck in and have an influence, which ultimately turns out to be the difference.
Argentina
The Pumas will take this defeat a little badly and it’s important that they keep their heads up and remember that they are still developing greatly as a team. They must work harder in the defensive areas of the pitch.
This means the side have to raise their levels of play and fitness. Mentally late on in games, it is very easy to switch off when players start to get a little bit tired. This stops productivity at both ends of the pitch and made it very easy for the Scottish defence to keep their side in front once they got ahead.
Betting Advice
Don’t read too much into this latest Scottish victory because it came against one of the weaker teams in mainstream international rugby. Look at the statistics for players in the Scotland team and they will show you who are the better players to back when bets on Scotland as a team become less favourable.
Don’t be afraid to back some of the Argentina players in their future matches. The Pumas have some very gifted stars who play in leagues all over the world. They lack quite a bit as a team but this does not mean you should go ahead and ignore the qualities that they do possess.
The best option seems to back players within both of these squads when these teams go into matches they will be considered under dogs. This will win you small amounts but stop you throwing away large amounts.
Tags: