Scotland facing powerhouse even with absentees as Finn Russell fitness update emerges

They will host Scotland in Cordoba in the Nations Championship on Saturday imbued with a confidence that comes from sustained growth over a long period.

Felipe Contepomi has not only continued the good work done by his predecessor Michael Cheika but made improvements to a team that has long had a reputation for formidable forwards play but now offers so much more.

“They've been a well-balanced team that use the field well in terms of possession and varying their attack or ball in the air, their kicking game,” said Pieter de Villiers, the Scotland assistant coach. “So they tend to keep the ball on the pitch for a long time, which brings a game of intensity and phases.”

Games between Argentina and Scotland tend to be played at full throttle; passionate encounters with lots of tries which are often utterly compelling. Scotland’s collapse against the Pumas at Murrayfield last November was a case in point as Gregor Townsend’s side contrived to blow a 21-0 lead by conceding five tries in the final 24 minutes to lose 33-24.

If that felt like the low point of Townsend’s nine-year reign, the coach and squad deserve great credit for the way they came back in the Six Nations to beat England and France so impressively. De Villiers believes the nature of the stinging defeat by Argentina taught them how to cope with wild shifts within games.

“You know, there was so much we could take from that Argentina game in November in terms of good, but then also in terms of growth,” he said. “The tries we've scored, the cohesion we've had, other positives, but then obviously managing the back end of the game, working with momentum swings in a better way. And I think we took those learnings into the Six Nations and there was some good growth with regards to that. So yes, we're looking forward to a rematch with Argentina, having, I think, improved on the stuff we needed to improve on.”

De Villiers attributes Argentina’s current standing to the stability in their set-up, going all the way to the top. Agustín Pichot, their great former captain, remains an influential figure and he and his former halfback partner Contepomi have been fundamental to the sustained growth.

“Felipe has always been a very meticulous guy in terms of his planning, high standards, high values,” said de Villiers. “They had Gus [Pichot] as president of the federation for some time as well, so the consistency of having good people that love the game and are really professional in their way of managing things has come through.

“We know about the passion that Argentina players have got on and off the field and you get that sense of continuity and consistency that comes together with having good management on and off the field.”

Pumas missing some big players

The format of the Nations Championship means that the Pumas will have home advantage in their three summer games before heading to Europe in the autumn. After Scotland, they will host Wales in San Juan then England in Santiago del Estero across consecutive July weekends.

The late finish to the French domestic season has affected both teams’ preparations for this weekend. Scotland opted not to select Blair Kinghorn who won his third Top 14 title in a row with Toulouse on Saturday evening as they beat Montpellier in the final. The match in Paris has impacted more on Argentina who will be without the Toulouse trio of lock Efrain Elias and backs Santiago Chocobares and Juan Cruz Mallia for the match in Cordoba.

There are first call-ups for Luciano Asevedo, Juan Penoucos, Agustin Fraga and Mateo Soler who play in Super Rugby Americas as Contepomi continues to look to develop his depth.

“I think their strength is more in their versatility,” added de Villiers. “They've still got these strong physical forwards, but at the same time their game management, their capacity to create and string phases together, to use the ball in the air as well, to close out games. I think they've become consistent in all different areas, which is exactly what you need to become a top five team, being strong in the different departments. and they've been consistent for years.”

Scotland will name their team on Thursday and hope to have Finn Russell fully involved in training before then. The stand-off missed Bath’s Prem play-off semi-final against Exeter with a calf injury which has proved harder to shake off than originally thought.

“Finn has reintegrated [into] the collective sessions this week,” said de Villiers. “[Monday] is not a big intensity day, we've done more of our learning work and some walk-throughs, but [Tuesday] and Wednesday will be our more intense days in terms of volume and contact.

“But Finn will be fully integrated and then we'll take things from there.”

Scotland arrived in Argentina last Friday and Saturday, with the touring party split into different groups. Some went out to watch Argentina play Jordan and witnessed Lionel Messi scoring his sixth goal of the World Cup.

In a nation where football is akin to religion, the prospect of the holders retaining the trophy they won in Qatar four years ago is understandably dominating the sporting agenda. But de Villiers expects there to also be fervent support for the Pumas on Saturday night at the

“Argentina is a country that loves rugby,” he said. “It's a passionate country behind the players.”