Scotland will begin their Nations Championship against Argentina without Finn Russell as he works his way back to full fitness.
But head coach Gregor Townsend is quietly confident the star fly-half will be available to play against South Africa next weekend.
The Scots are in Cordoba for what is a tough assignment at the start of the tournament against Los Pumas at the Estadio Mario Kempes.
A hostile home crowd of around 50,000 could await them against an Argentina team who won 33-24 when the teams met at Murrayfield last November.
That was a match which saw Scotland capitulate and blow a 21-point lead, with Townsend under no illusions about how tough of a challenge it will be.
The Scotland head coach has picked a strong team, with Tom Jordan deputising at fly-half in Russell’s absence, and Sione Tuipulotu captaining the side in midfield.
Russell missed the end of Bath’s domestic season and has failed to prove his fitness for Scotland
Russell is expected to be fit for Scotland’s clash with South Africa
On the absence of Russell, Townsend explained: ‘We didn’t consider him for selection. He trained fully on Wednesday, so we feel he’ll be available for selection next week.
‘But we’ll just see how that goes over the next few days. We obviously have to make decisions at the beginning of the week.
‘Finn took his full part in training on Wednesday, so that was a positive step in terms of where we see next week. We just need to see how he progresses.
‘He obviously wasn’t available for those late-season games with Bath, but there have been positive steps.
‘We made the call that we felt he can play games on this tour, so that’s why he was selected. We feel that he’ll still be able to do that given what we’ve seen in training.’
Former Glasgow Warriors man Jordan finished the season in good form with Bristol, with Fergus Burke also impressing for Saracens.
On the depth beyond Russell, Townsend continued: ‘We just want more of the same from Tom in terms of how he’s been playing for his club.
‘We’re blessed with the 10s that we have on this tour. Tom’s played all season really at 10 for Bristol. He’s also played 12 for us and 15 as well. He’s a Test match animal.
‘Fergus Burke on the bench has probably been the form 10 in England over the last two months of the season.
‘He’s in great physical shape and he’s full of confidence, so we expect him to play a part at the weekend as well.
‘We have depth. I feel it is such an important position. To win a game of rugby, the 10 is still the most important position in my opinion.
‘It is great that we have depth beyond the next World Cup. I think Scotland supporters should look forward to whatever happens at the World Cup and obviously for someone like Finn to try and play as long as possible.
‘I know he is motivated to do that. But we have real competition and depth right now in that position.’
After the game against Argentina, Scotland will travel to face South Africa in Pretoria before rounding off the summer schedule against Fiji at Murrayfield.
The second chunk of fixtures in the Nations Championship come in the autumn, with Scotland set to host New Zealand, Australia and Japan.
Townsend admitted that the defeat to Argentina at Murrayfield back in November had been a painful experience for himself and his players.
But he challenged his team to rise to the occasion and start their campaign with a bang when the teams clash once again tomorrow night.
‘I don’t actually know what the ticket sales are, but when New Zealand played there [in Cordoba] last year it looked amazing, the atmosphere at the game,’ he added.
‘That looked a sell-out. There is a real buzz around Argentinian rugby. We spent a couple of days in Buenos Aires.
‘The club scene, the amateur club scene, is thriving. We remember this from four years ago when we were out here. And obviously the national team is doing really well.
‘They are ranked fifth in the world, with some of the best players in the world playing over in Europe, so, yeah, we believe it will be a noisy crowd. It always is in Argentina.
‘But what a great experience for our players. What a great challenge for our players first of all.
‘To come out here and play Argentina away is one of those unique experiences you might not get in your rugby career.
‘What happened in the game back in November was painful and we have addressed that. This is a new challenge and one we feel ready for.’
Scotland team: Rowe, Steyn, Hutchinson, Tuipulotu (capt), Dobie, Jordan, White; Schoeman, Ashman, Millar-Mills, J Gray, Cummings, M Fagerson, Darge, Dempsey.
Replacements: Hiddleston, Sutherland, Z Fagerson, Samuel, Brown, Horne, Burke, Graham.
