Spooked and jeered Scotland serve up excruciating loss to add more pressure on Gregor Townsend

Boos rang round Murrayfield before the end of this astonishing encounter and supporters were leaving their seats and walking out before Justo Piccardo ran in Argentina’s fifth try of the second half. The match had already been won but the Pumas replacement added a little gloss, making the final scoreline 33-24. It was Argentina’s first victory on Scottish soil since 2009 and applied pressure on Gregor Townsend who had just watched his side squander a 21-0 lead. The supporters were voting with their feet. Having blown a huge chance last week to beat New Zealand, this was insult to injury. And for the second game in a row, it was a magician from the bench who came on and turned the game in the visitors’ favour. For the All Blacks, it was Damian McKenzie; for the Pumas, Santiago Carreras. The Argentine playmaker changed the course of the match, lifting his side after a flat first-half performance, aided and abetted by revitalised team-mates who had the small knot of visiting fans on their feet, chanting. But for Scotland, it will go down as one of their most excruciating autumn performances of the professional age. They were in complete control before a lack of composure changed the match completely. Scotland, through converted tries from Jack Dempsey and Ewan Ashman, went in 14-0 up at the break. Ashman’s second, converted again by Finn Russell, made it 21-0 but the game turned on a mistake by the stand-off in the 54th minute. Scotland were on the attack, looking good for a fourth try, when Russell threw a long, loose pass which landed between Kyle Steyn and Sione Tuipulotu. Argentina picked it up and charged up the other end and the game flipped on this moment. They never looked back. Scotland scrambled to defend but they were overrun and Blair Kinghorn was sent to the bin for repeated team infringements. Argentina’s first try, from captain Julian Montoya, soon followed and it was as if the dark blue dam had burst. They scored another, through Rodrigo Isgro, as Kinghorn cooled his heels, and three more came from Pedro Rubiolo, Pablo Matera and Piccardo. Scotland’s only counter was a Russell penalty, between their opponents’ second and third tries, which put the home side 24-12 ahead but did nothing to change the momentum of the second half. Scotland looked spooked. Their defence became too passive, they gave away too many penalties and there was an alarming vulnerability evident. The defeat confirms Townsend’s side will be in the second pot of seeds for the 2027 Rugby World Cup draw which takes place in Australia two weeks on Wednesday. Argentina will be among the elite, and rightly so. The last time these sides met at Murrayfield they shared 12 tries and six cards and it didn’t take long for the first sin-binning of the day. Juan Cruz Mallía had a first half to forget and his first transgression came as early as the fourth minute when he halted a Scotland attack with a deliberate knock on. It didn’t go down well with the home crowd as it denied Darcy Graham a dream start to his 50th Scotland appearance. Cutting inside from the right, the winger tried to find Jamie Dobie with a cute offload out the back but Mallía stepped in, illegally. There was an argument for awarding a penalty try as well as a yellow card but the officials reckoned No 8 Joaquín Oviedo could have halted the Scotland scrum-half, who was a late replacement for the ill Ben White before kick off. Scotland failed to make the most from the penalty, with Russell’s floated pass cut out by Gerónimo Prisciantelli, his opposite number - a harbinger of what was to happen after the break. Scotland were far more clinical eight minutes later. With Argentina still down to 14, Dobie spun the ball to Russell who found Dempsey who had run the perfect line and had far too much pace for the away defence. Russell’s conversion put Scotland 7-0 ahead. A smart piece of aerial play from Graham sparked the attack which led to Scotland’s second try. The winger is short on stature but did well to win the ball. Scott Cummings made good headway before centres Rory Hutchinson and Sione Tuipulotu both tried their luck. Argentina were creaking and Scotland didn’t panic, with Dobie picking out the lurking Ashman who had timed his run just right and spun over to score, with Russell again converting. Either side of Ashman’s first try, Mallía missed with two long-range penalty attempts, falling short on each occasion. Scotland remained in control but they continued to sustain casualties. Having lost White before kick-off, Gregor Brown failed an HIA eight minutes in and D’arcy Rae limped off before the break. Scotland still started the second half strongly, making the most of a botched Argentine penalty which failed to find touch. Once again, Ashman took the crash ball from Dobie and powered over. Russell knocked over the extras to make it 21-0 and all seemed well. There were 46 minutes on the clock and Felipe Contepomi had seen enough. The Pumas coach changed a third of his team with a quintuple substitution, the most significant alteration being the introduction of Santiago Carreras for Gerónimo Prisciantelli. The Gloucester fly-half orchestrated one of the most impressive comebacks witnessed by Murrayfield in its 100-year history. The Pumas butchered a golden chance in the 47th minute - causing Contepomi to bang the wall of the coaches’ box in frustration - but there were no mistakes after that. Instead, it was the Scots who were error-strewn. Russell’s wayward pass was the cue for mayhem. With Kinghorn yellow-carded, Montoya and Isgro made hay and suddenly Argentina believed, their two tries coming in the space of two minutes at the mid-point of the second half. The Argentina fans were loving it. Russell’s penalty failed to stem the tide. Scotland were getting caught offside and it was Townsend’s turn to bang his fist in frustration. A huge carry by Rubiolo gave Argentina their third try and Santiago Carreras’s conversion cut Scotland’s lead to five points. All the momentum was with the visitors and they took the lead for the first time in the 75th minute when Matera was awarded a try after a TMO check. Carreras’ conversion was met with angry shouts and booing as frustrated Scotland supporters upped and left, many of them missing Matera’s final try.