Gregor Townsend challenged Scotland to raise their game for the 2019 Six Nations after ending their autumn with victory over Argentina.
Sean Maitland’s try, his fifth successive score in Tests at BT Murrayfield, was enough to puncture the Pumas and add to a 54-17 win over Fiji a fortnight ago.
Townsend, bidding to build on a third-placed finish in the 2018 edition of Rugby’s Greatest Championship, laid down the gauntlet to his side and urged them to push on.
“The Six Nations is two months away but we have got to make sure we play better than we did over this period and keep improving as a team,” he said.
“We will get a lot of learning from these four games.
“We have played some tough opponents and we have got some tough opponents coming up, starting with Italy in the Six Nations.”
Greig Laidlaw’s boot provided nine points for Scotland which, in a war of attrition, proved vital with Argentina rueing their own misfiring from the tee that saw them waste four penalty goals.
The build-up to the contest was dominated by Townsend’s decision to line the mercurial duo of Adam Hastings and Finn Russell up at fly-half and inside centre respectively.
The Scotland head coach insisted that if the experiment succeeded, he’d have no hesitation in picking the duo for their Six Nations opener against Italy on February 2.
Hastings, withdrawn in the second half, and Russell found the going difficult but Townsend remained positive on the partnership’s potential.
“Nothing will be perfect the first time you put people in new positions,” he said.
“I felt Adam got more into the game as the first half went on, and I think Finn really took a grip of the game when he moved to 10 [after an hour].
“It’s something that we will consider in the future.”
