The Rugby World Cup wound Scotland just inflicted on themselves

Scotland didn’t just blow a massive lead at Murrayfield; they have blown their shot at a top pool seeding for Rugby World Cup 2027.

And in truth, they only have themselves to blame after throwing away a 21-point advantage.

The 33-24 defeat to Argentina means Scotland have fallen short of the top-six ranking cutoff that decides the first-tier seeds for the draw on 3 December.

The maths is grim for Gregor Townsend’s side. Argentina won’t shed enough points even if they lose to England next weekend, and Australia won’t gain enough even if they beat France, suggesting the top six is pretty much set.

Effectively, Scotland’s route to a favourable draw has gone up in smoke like the discharge from one of Edinburgh’s famous canons.

And the manner of it will sting almost as much as the consequences.

The men in dark blue were booed from the field after capitulating in astonishing fashion, conceding five tries in the last half-hour to a Pumas team that had offered almost nothing until Scotland handed them a lifeline.

It had all looked so simple early on. Forced into a late reshuffle with Ben White ruled out through illness, Scotland still started fast. With Juan Cruz Mallia in the bin after a deliberate knock-on five minutes in, Jack Dempsey steamed through a soft gap on 13 minutes and Finn Russell knocked over the extras.

Ewan Ashman – twice – then powered over either side of half-time, both times slipped in smartly by the excellent Jamie Dobie. At 21-0 after 44 minutes, Argentina were drifting and Murrayfield was relaxed.

Then came the turning point: an over-ambitious Russell pass, picked off to spark a counter-attack that ended with Blair Kinghorn sent to the bin for cynically shutting down the break. What followed looked like a side unravelling in slow motion.

Julian Montoya’s try broke the dam in the 57th minute after a lengthy TMO check. Rodrigo Isgo followed three minutes later. Russell briefly steadied things with a long-range penalty to make it 24-12, but momentum had already flipped on its axis.

Pedro Rubiolo muscled over to cut the gap to five with ten minutes left. Pablo Matera then forced the ball onto the line – another TMO decision going Argentina’s way – and Santiago Carreras’ conversion pushed the visitors ahead for the first time.

By now the collapse was total. Justo Piccardo’s 79th-minute sprint for Argentina’s fifth try sealed a remarkable turnaround and Scotland’s most self-inflicted defeat in years.

A first home loss to the Pumas since 2009 is damaging enough. But the bigger wound may not show until 2027 – when Scotland walk into a World Cup draw that just got a whole lot tougher.