Scotland grind out narrow win over Wallabies in scrappy affair

MATCH REPORT: Scotland returned to winning ways in the Nations Championship after edging Australia 15-12 at the Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on Sunday.

The clash was far from a spectacle, and it lacked attacking quality, with both teams struggling to find any real rhythm, particularly in the second half.

Scotland scored both their tries in the first stanza, while the Wallabies left it too late with a score by Max Jorgensen when time had already run out. 

Scotland were dealt a major blow before kick-off when captain Sione Tuipulotu was ruled out with a knee injury and replaced by Tom Jordan.

Despite that setback, they made a promising start, building pressure through a series of midfield carries that earned them a penalty.

They opted for the corner, and hooker Ewan Ashman found his jumper to set up a rolling maul. However, Australia defended well and managed to hold the Scots up to win possession back.

That mattered little, though, as Scotland returned to the attack and set up camp inside Australia’s 22-metre line. The sustained pressure eventually paid off when Matt Fagerson crossed in the right corner untouched.

The match was played at a blistering tempo, and Australia responded almost immediately.

Flyhalf Carter Gordon pulled the strings for the Wallabies, linking up with his backline before getting the ball into Harry Potter’s hands. The winger brushed off two defenders on his way to the try line to bring the scores level.

It was an arm-wrestle thereafter, with both sides testing each other at the breakdown and looking to gain forward momentum.

The game burst into life again after the 20-minute mark when Finn Russell sent a grubber cross-kick towards Kyle Steyn, which almost resulted in a try for Darcy Graham.

Steyn thought he had done well to keep the ball in play, and it bounced kindly for Graham, who dotted down. However, the try was ruled out after the TMO confirmed that Steyn’s foot had gone into touch before he could keep the ball in play.

Scotland continued to pile on the pressure through their forward pack. Their persistence eventually paid off on another visit to the opposition 22, with Jack Dempsey crashing over from close range.

With the game evenly balanced, the visitors thought they had scored their second when hooker Billy Pollard crashed over from the back of a rolling maul.

It wasn’t to be, though, and that try was disallowed for obstruction in the build-up.

The Aussies had a chance to end the half with some points, but poor decision-making by flyhalf Gordon meant they went into the break trailing by seven points.

Half-time: Scotland 12-5 Australia 

Similar to the first half, Scotland made the stronger start to the second stanza, putting the visitors under pressure.

In the 45th minute, Australia were reduced to 14 men after hooker Billy Pollard was shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Blair Kinghorn.

However, the Wallabies held firm during that period, conceding no points before returning to their full complement.

Australia had been forced to spend much of the half defending, but when they finally managed to string together 11 phases, Scotland captain Rory Darge won possession back with a crucial turnover at the breakdown, bringing the attack to an end.

After a quiet period of play, Scotland won a penalty just outside the Wallabies 22, and Russell slotted over a penalty to extend his side’s lead to 10 points.

Australia threatened late on with a line break from Tate McDermott, which was well dealt with by the home side before Max Jorgensen dotted over to set up a tense finish.

Player of the match: Stand-in captain on the day, Rory Darge, takes home the accolade. He was immense on defence for his side and carried extremely well.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Tries: Fagerson, Dempsey
Cons: Russell
Pens: Russell

For Australia:
Tries: Potter, Jorgensen
Cons: Donaldson

Yellow card: Billy Pollard (Australia, 45′ – head contact)

Teams:

Scotland (revised): 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Tom Jordan, 11 Darcy Graham, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge (captain), 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Gregor Brown, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Rory Sutherland.
Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Max Williamson, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Ollie Leatherbarrow, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Stafford McDowall.

Australia: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Harry Potter, 10 Carter Gordon, 9 Ryan Lonergan, 8 Harry Wilson (captain), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Jeremy Williams, 4 Josh Canham, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Billy Pollard, 1 Angus Bell.
Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 Isaac Kailea, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Lachlan Shaw, 20 Tom Hooper, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Filipo Daugunu.

Referee: James Doleman (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Paul Williams (New Zealand), Angus Mabey (New Zealand)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (England)