SCOTLAND will play three Test matches against Argentina on their South American tour in early July, it has been confirmed.
“Discussions with Rugby Chile are ongoing regarding a potential match prior to the three-Test series against Argentina. No formal agreement has been reached at this stage,” said a Scottish Rugby statement.
The three Test matches against Los Pumas will be played at Estadio 23 de Agosto in Jujuy on Saturday 2nd July, Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena in Salta on Saturday 9th July, and Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades in Santiago Del Estero on Saturday 16th July. All three games will kick-off at 8.10pm UK time and be shown live on Sky Sports.
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“Having not been able to tour for the past two years, the summer tour to Argentina represents a great opportunity for our players to improve, build togetherness and represent their country once again. With the World Cup now less than 16 months away, it will help our players gain more game time and experience ahead of next season,” said head coach Townsend.
“The Test Series in Argentina will be a tough challenge as Argentina are a proud rugby nation with a strong home record. They will provide our forwards with a real test, but they also play a really open style of rugby under their new head coach, Michael Cheika. When you see the quality of Argentinian players that are currently playing in Europe, they have ability right across their squad.
“This is an opportunity for us to see our players in a touring environment which is what we’ll experience at the Rugby World Cup when we’ll be together for at least a month.
“We will be able to see how the players gel as a group and perform when they’re away from home for such a long time so it’ll really help us with our World Cup squad selections. It’ll also give us things to work on that we’ve identified in the last Autumn Nations Series and during the recent Six Nations.”
Scotland last played in Argentina during the summer of 2018, when they were 15-44 winners in Resistencia.
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I hope Townsend has some assistants on this tour who are better tacticians and man managers than he is.