Scots fail Pumas test
Scots fail Pumas test
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Sunday, 07, Oct 2007 09:53
Scotland have crashed out of the Rugby World Cup after a 19-13 defeat to Argentina in the Stade de France in Paris.
Frank Hadden's side were undone by a first-half try from Gonzalo Longo while Felipe Contepomi kicked three penalties.
The Scots scored a second-half try from substitute Chris Cusiter but were unable to break down the Argentine defence in a gripping final 20 minutes.
The in-form South Americans will face South Africa in the semi-finals next Sunday in Paris.
The Pumas' success saw the River Plate versus Boca Juniors derby, one of the biggest matches in world football, moved to an earlier kick-off so Argentineans could watch their country in the World Cup quarter-final.
The first 20 minutes were a tense affair with Dan Parks' long-range penalty cancelled out by two Felipe Contepomi efforts to put the Pumas 6-3 ahead.
A schoolboy error from Parks cost the Scots when his kick was charged down from Gonzalo Longo with the number eight collecting the loose ball to touch down on 32 minutes.
A penalty from Chris Pateron on 36 minutes kept Frank Hadden's side in the game, but trailing 13-6 at the break.
The South Americans stretched their lead to ten points at the start of the second half with another Contepomi penalty.
And the Pumas went 19-6 ahead on 53 minutes with a drop goal from Juan Martin Hernandez.
On 56 minutes, Hadden made four changes with Chris Cusiter, Craig Smith, Scott MacLeod and Kelly Brown all coming on.
And the replacements had the desired effect, galvanising Scotland and finally pierced their opponents' defence.
Paterson launched an attack, which lead to substitute Cusiter diving over in the corner just after the hour mark.
Scotland piled forward to try to claw back their six-point deficit in the closing stages but the Pumas hung on to reach the World Cup semis for the first time.