Gregor Townsend targeting Scotland improvement as he welcomes back Hamish Watson

Gregor Townsend is looking for his Scotland team to make the most of any opportunity to use the ball in the second Test against Argentina as he welcomed the chance to pick his first-choice back row.

Hamish Watson will return from a shoulder injury to win his 50th Scotland cap on Saturday while fellow flanker Rory Darge is also back in the starting line-up following injury.

Townsend has made five changes in all following a 26-18 defeat in the opening Test, when Scotland failed to recover from a poor first half which saw them restricted to kicking two penalties, struggling to get into the opposition half with ball in hand, and conceding two late tries.

Townsend said: “It’s a cup semi-final and we have got to make sure we put our game out there. We didn’t do that at the weekend. We were, I suppose, frustrated with the performance and the errors that we made but frustrated with the game, it became stop-start. It was the lowest ball-in-play time we have ever had as a team.

“But if that happens at the weekend we have got to make sure that, when the ball is in play, for either team, we play much better.

“We know this tour is about a number of things: it’s about seeing a group of players coming together for four weeks and seeing how that environment is; it’s about giving players opportunities, but it is about winning. It’s about winning a Test series and we have made it more difficult for ourselves now not winning the first Test. But all of our efforts are getting put into winning this weekend.”

Watson replaces Edinburgh team-mate Luke Crosbie in the line-up for the encounter in Salta to reach a half-century of international appearances.

“It’s a tremendous achievement for him and a proud moment for his family,” Townsend said.

“I