Player ratings: Just enough
Australia did just enough at Murrayfield on Saturday as they secured a nervy 21-15 victory over a spirited Scotland.
The visitors outscored the Scots by two tries to one and dominated the line-outs but their lack of discipline kept the home side right in the game.
They struggled to find the fluency to make the most of their dominance and allowed Scotland into what became a fairly stunted game.
With so many players missing through injury or internal suspension it was an efficient performance, but it was by no means convincing and leaves room for improvement ahead of tougher tasks.
We rate the Australian players:
15 Israel Folau
An impressive game, he looked a threat every time he touched the ball. He offloaded well in the tackle, ran a great angle for his try and also showed good defensive capabilities on top of his ability under the high ball. One pass went into touch but his positional play and kicking game have both improved.
9/10
14 Joe Tomane
Looked for work but got shut down pretty quickly most of the time, linked well with Folau and made all of his tackles.
6/10
13 Christian Lealiifano
Did not attack the gainline too much but did the basics well and even won a breakdown penalty, his goal-kicking was steady as well.
7/10
12 Mike Harris
Kept it direct and was not too creative, he was blown up at the breakdown twice but kicked well and showed that he has decent pace.
6/10
11 Chris Feauai-Sautia
looked dangerous when given some space and stayed on his feet well in the tackle. His inexperience showed when he took a pass while standing out of touch but he made up for it soon afterwards by finishing his try well.
7/10
10 Quade Cooper
Gave the passes for both tries and pulled the strings well. Looked threatening when counter-attacking from deep and put in a late charge on his cousin Sean Maitland.
7/10
9 Will Genia
Provided good service and mixed it up nicely with some good kicks over the top, but also got caught in possession at times.
6/10
8 Ben Mowen
Covered well and put in some strong work in the tackle. He was solid at the back of the scrum but did not get over the gainline as much as he would have liked.
6/10
7 Michael Hooper
Great urgency at the tackle, he put Scotland under constant pressure at the breakdown and also carried powerfully.
8/10
6 Scott Fardy
Proved a good line-out option and got involved in the tight stuff. He carried well on the blindside and worked hard on defence.
6/10
5 James Horwill
Put in a good shift as Australia dominated the line-outs, he carried and tackled hard and provided some grunt in the tight.
7/10
4 Rob Simmons
A good game spoiled by his punch which earned him a yellow card. Otherwise he was reliable and got through some good work in the loose exchanges.
5/10
3 Sekope Kepu
Made a few big tackles but was put under pressure at times in the scrums and also strayed offside.
6/10
2 Stephen Moore
A big game from the hooker who has found some good form. Put in some hard work on defence and showed good hands on top of the physical stuff.
8/10
1 James Slipper
He blown up a few times in the scrums but showed his value in the loose as he got through plenty of work on defence.
6/10
Replacements:
16 Saia Fainga'a (On for Moore, 76 mins)
Not enough time to be rated.
17 Ben Alexander (On for Kepu, 58 mins)
Made some big hits and also added some stability to the scrum.
7/10
18 Paddy Ryan
Not used.
19 Sitaleki Timani (On for Horwill, 58 mins)
Made an impact, winning ball at the breakdown and injecting some physicality.
7/10
20 Ben McCalman (On for Fardy, 75 mins)
Not enough time to be rated.
21 Nic White (On for Genia, 65 mins)
Put in some good kicks and provided good ball.
7/10
22 Nick Phipps
Not used.
23 Bernard Foley
Not used.
By Michael de Vries
