Should Scotland leave star man Finn Russell on the bench for next week’s visit to South Africa?

That’s what former international Peter Wright is suggesting after Gregor Townsend’s side won a thrilling Nations Championship opener away to Argentina without the influential fly-half.

With Russell nursing a calf problem, Tom Jordan started at 10 in Cordoba and turned in an impressive performance, as did his replacement, Fergus Burke.

Both men kicked three conversions in the 47-38 victory and both pulled the strings effectively in a largely controlled display, skewed by two late scores for the hosts.

“Tom Jordan did really well in terms of his calmness,” former Scotland captain Lisa Martin told BBC Radio Scotland. “It was a really mature performance.

“Then Fergus Burke comes on and is spotting gaps and using his pace to get to those edges.

“It was really good to see we have another way of playing.

“There was maybe a bit more structure, less of the Finn-esque play. It’s good that we don’t have to be so heavily reliant on that one player in that linchpin position.”

Of course, the 33-year-old Russell remains a key creative force for Scotland, having scored 505 points in 94 appearances and bewildering opponents with off-the-cuff moments of magic.

“If he’s fit, he’s going to be involved,” former prop Wright said of Russell while looking forward to the challenge of the Springboks in their own backyard.

“I’d start Jordan and bring him on with 30 minutes to go when defenders are tired. That would be a curveball.

“In the World Cup, South Africa focused on Finn and stopped him from playing and we didn’t have another answer.”

In that 2023 encounter in Marseille, Scotland trailed 6-3 at half-time after a Russell penalty, but two quick tries took the game away from Townsend’s side, who were suffocated by pressure and did not get on the scoreboard again.

Russell kicked all of Scotland’s points in the 32-15 loss to South Africa at Murrayfield in November 2024, with the visitors pulling away in the last half hour.

The world champions were at their formidable best as they ran in seven tries against England on Saturday, but Scotland can take heart from matching that tally in Argentina.

There were seven different scorers, with Sione Tuipulotu, Pierre Schoeman, Rory Hutchinson, Gregor Brown, Scott Cummings, debutant Gregor Hiddleston and Kyle Rowe all crossing the line.

After an encouraging Six Nations, which featured victories over England and France, Townsend hailed his players for demonstrating growth from November’s painful loss to the Pumas in Edinburgh, when a 21-0 lead was botched.

“Looking back, we’re very grateful for that defeat,” Townsend said.

“The week after, I felt that we became a much better team, we had more honest conversations and then during the Six Nations we were more prepared for momentum swings.

“Sometimes your biggest growth comes from adversity and I’ve seen that with the team. Today was another step forward, coming to Argentina, who were playing so much good rugby and winning away from home, but I know there’s a lot more to come from the team.

“I was so proud of some of the individual performances, but just the team too.

“Argentina dominated possession for the first 10 minutes. Then, in the second half, they came right back into the game. We were able to change both scenarios around and really impose our game on them and get the points on the board.”

Wright, who earned 21 caps between 1992 and 1996, agreed, saying: “For 30 minutes in the first half and 30 minutes in the second half, they did the right things at the right time. They knew how to wrestle the momentum back.

“They were making good decisions while still playing exciting rugby, which is in the DNA of this team.

“When you’re planning a defensive strategy against Scotland, it’s tough because they can score from anywhere, from multi-phases, from pick-and-goes, from mauls.”

Martin picked up on the same theme, saying: “Yes, there were drop-offs in both halves, but it didn’t snowball. Scotland were able to reset and put the pressure back on to Argentina.

“That’s an important learning from previous games. Gregor Townsend should be a very happy coach.

“That’s going to be massive against South Africa because we know there will be moments when things don’t go to plan.”