'Psychological element': Gregor Townsend on damaging Scotland loss and things he could have done differently

Scotland led 21-0 after 54 minutes of the match in Edinburgh but conceded five tries in the final 26 minutes to lose 33-21.

Head coach Townsend acknowledged there were technical, physical and mental issues to address but said he would firstly look at his own performance. The coach said he was close to changing things around the time of Argentina’s first try but stalled when Blair Kinghorn was shown the yellow card, reducing his team to 14 men. Scotland conceded two tries while the full-back was in the sin-bin, changing the momentum of the match.

Asked if he felt his players let him down in the game’s big moments, he replied: “Not at all. We're very much together and I'm looking at myself first. How could I have done things differently during the week, could I have changed things during the game?

“I was considering subs and that yellow card period was a period that we felt wasn't right to make changes. I believe in the group, I believe in the players we have. I know they'll be hurting and we're hurting with them but we know we have to be better.”

‘Supporters are right to be disappointed’

Scotland’s dramatic collapse prompted an uncharacteristically hostile reaction from the home support in the sold-out stadium. Some walked out early while others booed. Townsend said they were entitled to express their anger.

“I think you get that when the team's not playing well and supporters are right to give that,” he said. “It was still a great atmosphere. The crowd were behind the team when Argentina had momentum.

“I heard Flower of Scotland ringing out. But it was disappointing that we weren't able to win and our supporters are disappointed too. We feel very privileged that we're living through a period where we're getting sell-out crowds and the atmosphere at Murrayfield is one of the best in the world, like we saw last week, like we saw this week. So the expectations are high and the supporters are right to be disappointed.”

Slide down world rankings

The result saw Scotland drop from eighth to ninth in the world rankings and confirms that they will be in the second pot of seeds for the draw for the 2027 Rugby World Cup which is being made two weeks on Wednesday. Scotland had been sixth going into this year’s Six Nations but have since lost to Ireland, England, France, Fiji, New Zealand and now Argentina.

Townsend admitted there was “a psychological element” to Sunday’s defeat as well technical issues.

“I think there was definitely a speed about Argentina in that last period that we weren't repelling enough and we weren't bringing our own speed to the game,” said the coach. “We didn't play that much ball which didn't help and we weren't as accurate. So there's a technical and physical element and there is a psychological element which is being composed when we have opportunities and making sure that we don't jump offside which I'd say is more mental than physical.”

Townsend was asked again about his work with Red Bull and whether it was proving a distraction but he reiterated his belief that it can be beneficial for his development.

Red Bull role defended

“I know it can help improve me as a coach, improve the coaching group and I'm 100 per cent committed to this role [as Scotland head coach],” he said. “Red Bull's in my own time so I'll be doing all I can to work with the team this week to make sure we deliver a better performance.”

Scotland complete their autumn programme against Tonga at Murrayfield this Sunday, a side ranked 10 places below them. “I think we have to show who we are and who we want to be and that's an 80-minute performance based on physicality, based on huge effort,” said Townsend who stressed the need for improved discipline after they conceded 10 penalties to Argentina’s five.

Having also succumbed to New Zealand late on the week before, Townsend accepted that defeat by Argentina would increase the pressure on him.

“It's not great for anyone, our players and the coaches,” he said. “We know the team we have and what we've shown over the last two weeks. That has to be turning into victories. That's what we need to deliver to our supporters. So that wasn't good enough.”