Shellshocked Scotland players were booed from the Murrayfield pitch on Sunday evening after producing one of the most spectacular collapses in recent memory, surrendering a 21-0 lead to lose 33-24 to Argentina.
A Dream Start Turns Into a Nightmare
The match on Sunday 16 November 2025 began perfectly for the home side. A try from Jack Dempsey was swiftly followed by a double from Ewan Ashman, putting Scotland in a commanding 21-0 lead by midway through the third quarter. Victory seemed not just likely, but a formality.
However, the match turned on two pivotal moments. First, an ambitious and loose pass from fly-half Finn Russell was intercepted by the Pumas. This was quickly followed by a 54th-minute yellow card shown to Blair Kinghorn. The momentum shifted irrevocably.
Argentina, seizing their opportunity, roared back with an astonishing five tries in the closing 24 minutes to claim their first victory at Murrayfield since 2009, leaving the home crowd in a state of disbelief and anger.
Captain's Candid Admission of Failure
Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu did not shy away from the failure, admitting his team must "take a good hard look at ourselves" and deserve to face the criticism coming their way.
"I thought we started the game so well," said the British and Irish Lions centre. "We were 21 points up and in their 22, but we turned the ball over and after that we lost our composure. Our discipline was so bad we didn't touch the ball for large parts of that second half. It came down to a lack of composure under adversity."
Tuipulotu accepted that the boos from their own supporters were justified, expressing guilt that the team had let down a sold-out Murrayfield crowd. "People pay good money to come watch us," he stated. "We need to cop this one as a playing group and say that's not good enough."
Coach Townsend's Post-Match Bewilderment
Head coach Gregor Townsend, whose position will now come under intense scrutiny after such a damaging capitulation, confessed he "definitely didn't see that coming."
He pointed to the intercepted pass from Finn Russell and the subsequent yellow card as the critical turning point. "It's such a huge momentum swing," Townsend said. "For it to flip the field and us to lose a yellow card was obviously very costly."
While praising his team's first-half defence, which had kept a "quality side like Argentina" to zero, he acknowledged the final 30-minute performance was unacceptable and would be closely examined.
