Scotland confirm South American tour

 Scotland will embark on a South American summer tour playing three-tests against Argentina, taking on Los Pumas in three different regions this July.

The tour will make history, becoming the first time Scotland will play a three-Test tour against any Tier 1 Nation and will start off in Jujuy on Saturday 2 July where Scotland take on Argentina at the Estadio 23 de Agosto.

Gregor Townsend’s squad will then travel to Salta to play Los Pumas on Saturday 9 July in Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena. The final test will take place on Saturday 16 July in Santiago Del Estero at the Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades.

All matches will kick-off at 8.10pm (UK time) and shown live on Sky Sports.

The last time Scotland played in Argentina was in 2018, following a tour of North America, in a six-try 15-44 win in Resistencia, with George Horne scoring a brace.

Discussions with Rugby Chile are ongoing regarding a potential match prior to the three-Test series against Argentina. No formal agreement has been reached at this stage.

2022 Argentina Tour Fixtures

Argentina v Scotland | Saturday 2 July 2022, kick-off 8.10pm (UK time) - Estadio 23 de Agosto, Jujuy, live on Sky Sports

Argentina v Scotland | Saturday 9 July 2022, kick-off 8.10pm (UK time) - Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena, Salta, live on Sky Sports

Argentina v Scotland | Saturday 16 July 2022, kick-off 8.10pm (UK time) - The Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades, Santiago Del Estero, live on Sky Sports

Following confirmation of the fixtures Gregor Townsend said: “Having not been able to tour for the past two years, the summer tour to Argentina represents a great opportunity for our players to improve, build togetherness and represent their country once again. With the World Cup now less than 16 months away, it will help our players gain more game time and experience ahead of next season.

Speaking about the benefits of playing Argentina, he said: “The Test Series in Argentina will be a tough challenge as Argentina are a proud rugby nation with a strong home record. They will provide our forwards with a real test, but they also play a really open style of rugby under their new head coach, Michael Chieka. When you see the quality of Argentinian players that are currently playing in Europe, they have ability right across their squad.

Townsend is also of the belief the tour will enhance preparation for the Rugby World Cup in 2023.

He said: “This is an opportunity for us to see our players in a touring environment which is what we’ll experience at the Rugby World Cup when we’ll be together for at least a month.

“We will be able to see how the players gel as a group and perform when they’re away from home for such a long time so it’ll really help us with our World Cup squad selections. It’ll also give us things to work on that we’ve identified in the last Autumn Nations Series and during the recent Six Nations.”