Scotland to play at scene of one of nation's most ignominious sporting occasions

It was the venue for two of Scottish sport’s most ignominious occasions, a misadventure that punctured national morale.

Now Scotland's rugby team are returning to Cordoba for their opening match in the inaugural Nations Championship.

Gregor Townsend’s side will take on Argentina at Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes on Saturday, July 4. The stadium is named after local hero Kempes, the top scorer at the 1978 football World Cup, whose two goals in the final helped Argentina beat the Netherlands 3-1.

Scotland's Grayson Hart sprays champagne after the win over Argentina at Mario Alberto Kempes Stadium in Cordoba in 2014. | AFP via Getty Images

Scotland went into the same tournament with expectations of challenging but lost their opening game 3-1 to Peru and then could only draw 1-1 with Iran in their next match. Both games took place at the same Cordoba ground, then known as the Olympic Stadium.

Ally MacLeod’s team recovered to beat the Netherlands 3-2 in their final final group stage game in Mendoza but it was not enough to take them into the next stage and Scotland were eliminated.

Peru players celebrate after beating Scotland 3-1 at the 1978 World Cup in Cordoba. | COMPLIMENTARY

Townsend will be hoping for better fortunes in the Cordoba stadium which was renamed in 2010 to honour Kempes, a national hero in Argentina. The rugby team have played there before, winning 21-19 in a summer tour match in 2014, with Duncan Weir scoring a late penalty to secure the victory under then head coach Vern Cotter.

From the current squad, only Grant Gilchrist remains from the side who played there 12 years ago. The Edinburgh lock captained Scotland that day.

Tuesday’s announcement means that the venues and dates for all Scotland’s summer Nations Championship Tests are now known, although kick-off times have yet to be confirmed.

After the opener in Argentina, Scotland will travel to South Africa to take on the Springboks. The match against the world champions will take place at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, July 11. It will the first time the Scots have played South Africa at the famous Pretoria stadium, although they have played other Test matches at the ground, against Tonga and France at the 1995 Rugby World Cup and Italy in a tour match in 2013.

Scotland’s final summer match in the Nations Championship will be against Fiji at Murrayfield on Saturday, July 18. The game is designated as a home fixture for Fiji, who will also play their other two July Nations Championship games in the UK, against Wales at Cardiff City Stadium and England at Everton’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Argentina's Mario Kempes (L) after his second goal against the Netherlands in the 1978 World Cup final. | AFP via Getty Images

The new Nations Championship pits the leading northern hemisphere sides against the best of the south.

The 12 competing nations, split into the two groups of six, representing north and south, will each play six fixtures against a different opponent from their rival hemisphere group - three in July (Southern Series) and three in November (Northern Series). Scotland will host New Zealand, Australia and Japan in the autumn.

There will also be Finals Weekend at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on November 27-29 where teams will play against the side from the rival hemisphere group who are ranked the same as them, so first plays first, second plays second etc.

The opening game of the new Nations Championship will be between New Zealand and France and will be played at One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch on July 4. ITV is to broadcast the tournament in the UK.

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