Scotland exited the Hong Kong Sevens with a 7-5 plate quarter-final defeat to Argentina.
Argentina had won 10 of the previous 16 meetings, including the last contest 22-14 in San Diego in the previous round of the IRB World Sevens Series.
The match was a predictably tight contest, with Scotland keen to make up for day two losses against China and Kenya which ended a run of nine successive cup quarter-finals.
Argentina had the better of the opening period, with Edinburgh’s Greig Laidlaw recovering to gather a grubber kick on the right wing ahead of Adrian Cherro before play was brought back for a late tackle by Jim Thompson.
The Pumas spread the ball wide to the left wing where Santiago Gomez Cora almost popped over in the corner, only to put a foot in touch.
Roddy Grant, of Heriot’s, then powered down the centre of the field, but could not get a pass away to his support and Argentina countered once more.
But strong defence on both sides meant the first half ended in a stalemate.
Argentina’s Gabriel Ascarate latched on to a kick to go over two minutes 30 seconds into the second period and the touchline conversion from Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino was successful.
Ramiro del Busto was then sin-binned for two minutes and Scotland immediately took advantage, with Laidlaw sniping to the line following a five-metre scrum.
Glasgow Warriors’ Michael Adamson’s conversion was not successful, leaving the Scots requiring a further score.
But Stephen Gemmell’s team could not breach the stern Pumas defence again, resulting in an early elimination.
“It was a step up from where we were yesterday, we needed that” said Scotland coach Gemmell. “The disappointing thing is we needed that in the first two days.
“If we had performed like that yesterday morning, we wouldn’t be in the situation we’re in.
“But we’ve got another opportunity against them (Argentina) next week in the pool stages in Adelaide which holds no fears for us.
“That’s the beauty of the series, we’ve got another chance.”
