Five things we learnt from Wallabies - Scotland

Sun, Nov 24, 2024, 4:30 PM
Lachlan Grey
by Lachlan Grey

The Wallabies will be left to rue what may have been after a superb Scotland spoilt their Grand Slam dream on Monday morning.

Brilliantly led by Sione Tuipulotu and Finn Russell, Gregor Townsend's men were relentless at Murrayfield and completely smothered the Aussies in a 27-13 affair.

Here's what we learned:

1.Grand Slam Dream over

The feats of Australia's 1984 outfit remain unmatched with a 2-0 dream start to this year's tour cut brutally short by Scotland.

Make no mistake - the Scots were excellent and played the conditions perfectly, spoiling clean ball and generally making nuisances of themselves.

Individually, Russell was the difference with his kicks from hand while wing duo Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham delivered hammer blows in the second half to set up and score the go-ahead tries.

But you can't help but feel it's one that got away from Australia.

Missed opportunities, particularly from the maul that so reliably rolled Wales last week, came back to haunt the Wallabies and the eight turnovers conceded at ruck time will sting Australia's backrow unit.

2. Sione the Brave

Talk about a statement performance.

Facing off against his country of birth and a few Australian U20 teammates, Sione Tuipulotu bled blue and white as Scotland's skipper and was at the heart of this win.

A barnstorming try set the tone before Tuipulotu turned the screws on the Wallabies, repeatedly opting for the corner with three points begging and continually pinning Australia deep down in their own half.

If that wasn't enough, Tuipulotu also wore the shot of the game from Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and ended up leaving the Wallaby rookie with a suspected broken arm.

He's one tough customer and, in this author's view, a frontrunner to don the Lions #12 next year.

3. The moment that might have been

Trailing 17-6 with 18 minutes on the clock, Australia had a golden opportunity to swing the game in their favour.

A Scotland lineout overthrow went haywire when Rob Valetini booted the ball downfield and Max Jorgensen had the toe to chase it down and earn prime counterattacking pill inside the Scots' 22m.

With their hosts caught in a rare backpedal, Australia needed to keep it in hand and score - then and there.

Hindsight is 20-20 but Tate McDermott's ambitious cross kick was a risky move and defused by none other than Sione Tuipulotu running back to get onside (though whether he made it remains up for debate).

Five minutes later, the Scots were back on the attack and Josh Bayliss touched down for a 22-6 lead.

Game, set, match.

4. Potter's put-down for the ages

Not much went right for the Australians in this one but debutant winger Harry Potter can be proud of his contributions, especially his highlight-reel finish.

Trailing 27-6 in the 75th minute, the Wallabies threw caution to the wind with Potter haring after a McDermott kick in-goal and spectacularly touching down.

How Potter managed to regather possession while on his back, roll over and place the ball - simultaneously keeping his legs up to avoid the dead-ball chalk - should be put down to some form of wizardry (or at least pilates).

Try aside, Potter made nine carries and finished with three tackle busts, three offloads and six tackles - a solid start to his Test career.

5. All eyes on Irish goodbye

How the Wallabies finish their Spring Tour is arguably more important now there's no Grand Slam looming overhead.

Yes, a win against Scotland would've been the best outcome for Australian rugby, but next week's clash against the Six Nations champions shapes a true test of character.

The pre-match loss of Matt Faessler and Jeremy Williams coupled with Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii's arm injury and the Scots' pressure game rocked Australia. Now, let's see how they respond in the face of adversity.

Post-game, captain Harry Wilson said he was "gutted with the result" but noted the Wallabies "feel as though they're on the right track" despite that loss.

Let's see where they're really at when they run out against Andy Farrell's men at the Aviva.

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