Argentina vs Scotland Prediction: Ashman key for Scots in Cordoba

Scotland travel to Cordoba to face Argentina in their opening Nations Championship campaigns on Saturday at the Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes (8:10pm BST, live on ITV4/ITVX) with boss Gregor Townsend naming an experienced team.

Read on for my Argentina vs Scotland predictions, complete with the latest odds and team news.

Argentina vs Scotland Odds

Los Pumas are favourites at 3/10 on home soil to gain victory in their maiden Nations Championship outing, with Scotland priced at 5/2 for a southern hemisphere success in Cordoba.

The handicap line sees Scotland with an 8.5-point start and priced at 4/5 to overcome it.

Team News

There's no Finn Russell for Scotland, though he could feature against South Africa next weekend according to Townsend.

Tom Jordan starts at 10 in Russell's absence, with Ben White at scrum-half. Sione Tuipulotu captains the side from inside centre with Rory Hutchinson alongside.

Kyle Rowe, Kyle Steyn and Jamie Dobie form the back three, while Jack Dempsey, Rory Darge and Matt Fagerson continue as an experienced back-row unit and Jonny Gray makes a welcome return at No.4 after missing the Six Nations.

Hooker George Turner and prop Elliot Millar-Mills also come into the Scotland side, with Zander Fagerson and Darcy Graham among those dropping into the replacements from the Six Nations.

Matias Alemanno features in the second row as he becomes the fifth Puma to reach 100 caps. His partner Guido Petti wins his 99th cap here, while at the opposite end of the spectrum Faustino Sanchez Valarolo makes his Test debut at centre for Felipe Contepomi's team.

Versatile playmaker Santiago Carreras of Bath wears the No. 11 shirt while Julian Montoya skippers an experienced Argentina XV at hooker.

Argentina to win by 1-5 points @ 6/1

Scotland were superb for 45 minutes at Murrayfield in November but collapsed as Argentina outscored them 33-3. With no Russell pulling the strings now, Scotland will have to rely on their forwards to stem Argentina's advances.

History suggests that this could be a closely-fought contest, as recent tests between the pair have often been decided by narrow margins. I'm going to back Argentina to win by 1-5 points as playing Los Pumas in Argentina remains one of international rugby's toughest assignments, particularly at Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes.

Anytime Tryscorer - Ewan Ashman @ 21/10

Edinburgh hooker Ewan Ashman has a formidable tally of 14 tries in his 35 caps, a record for a Scotland forward.

He scored twice in his previous Test against the Pumas on their own soil in July 2022 and underlined his liking for facing this opposition with a couple of touchdowns either side of half time in that November loss at Murrayfield.

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