Scotland crush Argentina 44-15 after first-half thrashing

Scotland ripped through some feeble Argentine defence to post a barely believable 36-3 halftime lead against a team who have fallen away dramatically since their run to the semi-finals of the 2015 World Cup.

George Horne crossed twice in the first half and there were also tries for Stuart McInally, Magnus Bradbury and Blair Kinghorn as Scotland's new-look side took total control.

Tomas Lezana and debutant replacement Santiago Gonzalez replied for an improved Argentina early in the second half but Dougie Fife added another try for the Scots who finished their tour on a high.

Scotland beat Canada but then lost 30-29 to the United States last week, prompting coach Gregor Townsend to make eight changes to his starting team. The new boys grasped their opportunity to make it six wins out of seven against an Argentina team who lost both tests against Wales this month and have had victories over only Italy, Georgia and Japan in a dire run since 2016 that has seen 18 defeats from 22 games. (Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Clare Fallon)