Murrayfield, November 10, 1990.

Scotland face Argentina in their first appearance at the Edinburgh ground since their tumultuous Grand Slam triumph eight months earlier and the ecstatic reception from the crowd clearly inspires them as they thrash their hapless opponents 49-3, scoring eight tries - then still worth four points.

Some history notes from that game. It was the first official Test between the countries, the SRU having previously decreed the Pumas not worthy of full cap status. It was the first international appearance by 20-year-old Scotland lock Doddie Weir, and the last by the 39-year-old Argentina fly-half Hugo Porta. And one other thing: it was also the last time the Scots beat Argentina on home soil.

They have pitched up at Murrayfield four times since then and won every time. The margins have been tight, but that is generally how Argentina do things. For the home side, every one of those games must have felt like a mugging: it is not as if Argentina have ever crushed them with sheer quality.

Only in 2007, when they beat Scotland in a World Cup quarter-final in Paris, have they really looked the better team, but their packs of rugged sluggers have an unrivalled gift for getting their noses in front and keeping them there.

Funnily enough, Scotland did something similar in Cordoba in June, when they came from behind with late points to beat Argentina 21-19. After wins over the USA and Canada over the previous fortnight, it was new coach Vern Cotter's third victory on the trot, but then and now he had no illusions about the opposition. Argentina fielded a makeshift side made up of home- based players that day. It says everything that only two of them started against South Africa when they got down to more serious business in the southern hemisphere Rugby Championship a few weeks later.

Since they joined two years ago, that tournament has brought Argentina big time, but it has not been the fast-forward button they hoped for. Most of their top players are still based in Europe and their world ranking, eighth at the time of accession, has slipped. At the start of this year's competition they were 12th, four below Scotland and behind Samoa, Japan and Fiji.

We will find out on Saturday, in the first of Scotland's Autumn Tests, whether Argentina's 21-17 victory over Australia in Mendoza last month, their first Rugby Championship win, truly is a game changer.

Of course, it was acclaimed as that, but the Wallabies were hovering between turmoil and disarray at the time, stricken by an injury crisis and not exactly helped by the local fans who shone laser pens in kicker Bernard Foley's face as he lined up shots at goal. Yet Cotter is firmly of the view that Argentina have moved on and that the Australia result will prove significant. "They have benefited from playing against the best three teams in the world," he said. "Their game has developed.

"They always had amazing resources, with their big, hard, ball-carrying pragmatic players. Not all of them are professional, but they obviously have professional attitudes in the way they go about the game. The win against Australia will give them confidence."

What, though, of Cotter's side? If last outings are to be the guide then the portents are bleak. Scotland's most recent taste of Test rugby was a particularly sour one: a 55-6 thrashing in South Africa. The match took place outside the IRB international window, meaning no exiles could play, so the result has be treated with caution, but it cannot be ignored completely.

Some supporters are calling for the Glasgow backline to be picked in its entirety for the Argentina game, but it is worth reminding them that six of the seven backs who played against the Springboks were drawn from the Warriors' stable.

It is not beyond imagining that Cotter could pick an all-exile back row, but there will be, and should be, a strong Glasgow accent to the side. It is impossible to ignore the electrifying form of Mark Bennett or, given the need to scrummage well against Argentina, the rejuvenation of Euan Murray.

More than anything, Cotter will want Scotland to play with the pace that has become the Glasgow trademark. If he learned one thing against South Africa, it is that Scotland do not win arm-wrestling contests. "We have to be very aware and shift the ball and keep it away from the tight zone," the coach. "We have to be smart about how we play Argentina, and get a bit of width to our game."