A RATTLING, rip-roaring game as Scotland razzled and dazzled and delivered five slick tries, but a performance that still left a few questions hanging in the damp Edinburgh air at the end.
Were they really that good, or were Argentina just calamitously bad? Will coach Vern Cotter dare to change his winning formula ahead of the All Blacks' visit next Saturday? And how on earth did Scotland manage to cough up 21 points in the final 10 minutes, turning a rout into a closer shave than it should have been?
Last things first. Cotter clearly had issues with some of referee Wayne Barnes' decisions during that closing period, as the Pumas gained most of their positions and points from the stream of penalties that the English whistler dished out against his side. But Cotter is, above all else, a rugby pragmatist, and he was certainly not inclined to whinge or wallow in indignation. Nor should he, for there was little question that the Scots had been given a collective warning about their mounting penalty count before Barnes started to play hardball.
In truth, they could be forgiven a degree of sloppiness, for they had put themselves in an unassailable position when Greig Laidlaw clipped over a penalty in the 61st minute to put them 34-10 points in front. But there are still reasons for concern given the opposition they will face next. It is hard to imagine that Scotland will hold a 24-point advantage over the All Blacks as that game goes into its final stages, but harder still to conceive that the world champions will not take full advantage of even the slightest sign of weakness. "The referees all have interpretations and each one is different," said Cotter of Scotland's weak finish. "I'd need to have a look closely at where those penalties came from. We would like to eliminate them, and I'll have a discussion with the referee to see what we can do to improve."
The truth is that Scotland played rather well for an hour and rather badly for 20 minutes. Yes, some of Barnes' sanctions, particularly the penalty try he awarded against the Scots, seemed harsh, but Scotland gave him ample cause to lay down the law. Yet, transgressions apart, they also lost the shape and sharpness that had illuminated their performance up to that point.
On balance, though, the good things Scotland did outweighed the bad by a considerable margin. They played with pace and confidence, verve and self-belief. They took an early blow when Argentina flanker Javier Desio plundered a try after 90 seconds, but they came flying back off the ropes with a flurry of counter-punches. It was to be expected that Cotter would tidy up some aspects of their game; more surprising is the way that Stern Vern seems to have put a smile back on the face of the team.
In that, there was a reminder of how Frank Hadden unshackled Scotland from their grim strictures when he succeeded the rugby-by-numbers exponent Matt Williams as national coach nine years ago. In time, Hadden's teams became cautious and conservative, but the total of three wins claimed in his first Six Nations in charge has not been bettered since.
There was certainly a sense of rejuvenation in the way certain individuals played. Laidlaw, the man of the match, has never played better for Scotland. Ross Ford rediscovered his old thunder. Richie Gray was a cantering colossus once again.
"They really enjoyed themselves, but they're a humble bunch," said Cotter. "They're very pleased with the effort and the result, but we're in no position to get carried away. The All Blacks beat England, and they're the best team in the world.
"What was pleasing was the fact that we got a try scored against us, against the run of play, but we still believed in what we could do."
So will Cotter change things around before his countrymen come calling? The only apparent injury concern is Henry Pyrgos, the replacement scrum-half, who suffered a head knock in a needlessly heavy tackle. Edinburgh's Sam Hidalgo-Clyne has been called into the squad on a precautionary basis to provide cover.
There had been an assumption that Cotter had a selection strategy for the three autumn internationals, but the coach dismissed the suggestion that he had even a rough plan in place. He has scope to make a couple of tweaks, but no realistic cause to do so. None of the replacements who came on made strong cases to be bumped up the pecking order.
Indeed, given his origins it is Cotter himself who will more likely be the focus of attention over the coming days, but he was quick to stress that his New Zealand background bestowed no advantages when it came to preparing a team to take on the All Blacks. "We're looking at another opposition, and a very, very good one," he said. "We'll take a very positive approach to the game. We'll embrace the opportunity to play against the best team in the world and really see where we sit.
"We'll be brutally honest with ourselves, which I know these guys are. We'll try to develop what we did well today and try to identify a few things which they'll be trying to exploit, and then take those opportunities away from them."
There is no doubt that Cotter is a hard task master and his Scotland players can expect a tough few days on the training pitches this week. But a softer side of his personality comes over in victory. "I'm pleased for them that they got this result," he said of those players at one point. "I'm quite proud of them actually."
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