Scotland v Australia - teams and prediction
PREVIEW: Australia head into their European tour opener against Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday with coach Dave Rennie urging the Wallabies to be “far more clinical” than in last year’s corresponding fixture.
Rennie’s men suffered a frustrating 15-13 defeat in Edinburgh that ended a five-match winning streak against all opponents and marked the start of an ongoing run of just three victories from 12 matches.
“We had a lot of opportunities to score which we didn’t take,” Rennie told reporters on Thursday.
“We’ve got to be far more clinical – we only scored one try.”
“We’re well aware of the threat they [Scotland] pose.
“They’re excellent post tackle, they have the ability to get a couple in the tackle and choke you and slow your ball down so they can get a wall in front of you. So getting quick ball has been a big focus for us.”
With flyhalf Quade Cooper injured, Rennie has now opted for a new halfback pairing of scrum-half Tate McDermott and Bernard Foley in the run-up to next year’s World Cup in France.
Foley is well-known to Scotland, having landed the controversial penalty that condemned them to an agonising 35-34 loss in a 2015 World Cup quarterfinal at Twickenham.
Australia will be bolstered by the return of flank and former captain Michael Hooper, who hasn’t played for the Wallabies since withdrawing on the eve of August’s match against Argentina in Mendoza as he was not in the “right mindset” to lead his country.
“We’re rapt for Hoops,” said Rennie, who has now selected front-row James Slipper as skipper.
“He’s been outstanding both on and off the field since re-entering the environment and he can’t wait to pull on the gold jersey again.”
Scotland has won their last three Tests against the two-time Rugby World Cup winners.
But coach Gregor Townsend, rather like Rennie, could do with a win following a lacklustre 2022 so far, although both coaches have been backed by their boards to still be in charge at next year’s World Cup.
Scotland won just twice in this year’s Six Nations and lost 2-1 on their recent tour of Argentina, with Townsend taking nothing for granted this weekend.
“We’re aware of the strengths Australia bring,” he said.
“I was in Melbourne last month watching them against New Zealand. They lost (39-37) in the last seconds of that game after a brilliant comeback.
“Although they’ve not won as many games as they’d have liked, they’ve shown their quality enough times over the summer to be positive about their northern hemisphere tour.”
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Dempsey switch
Saturday’s match has been given added interest by the fact flank Jack Dempsey, who won 14 caps for Australia, could make his Scotland debut off the bench.
Dempsey is Scotland-qualified under new World Rugby eligibility rules allowing a change of allegiance after a three-year stand down if players have a “close and credible link via birthright” (his grandfather is Scottish).
“He’s already proved he’s got the game to thrive at international level and we believe he’s got the game that can really thrive for us,” said Townsend.
The Dark Blues boss, who can only select home-based players for a match that falls outside World Rugby’s window for end-of-year Tests, added: “He’s played very well for Glasgow and we want to see his strengths when he comes on.”
Rennie, himself a former Glasgow coach, said: “We always felt he lacked a little bit of physicality and we gave him that feedback and I know he’s worked hard on that and we’ve seen it prosper and blossom at Glasgow.
“I know he’ll be keen as to get among our boys, he knows a lot of them really well.”
Saturday’s match will be Scotland’s first since Townsend took the controversial decision to drop fly-half Finn Russell from his entire Autumn squad, although the flyhalf would have been unavailable this weekend given he plays Paris-based club Racing 92.
Blair Kinghorn starts at flyhalf in a team led by flank Jamie Ritchie, with Townsend saying only of a possible Test recall for the in-form Russell: “The door is not closed on any player.”
Players to watch
For Scotland: The selection of the former Wallaby back row forward Jack Dempsey will continue to dominate the build-up. Dempsey, whose maternal grandfather was Scottish, made himself available for Scotland following a recent change in World Rugby’s international eligibility rules. Dempsey, who hasn’t played for the Wallabies since the 2019 World Cup, decided to make the switch after moving to play in Scotland last year for the Glasgow Warriors and discussing the change of allegiance with his family. Jamie Ritchie will captain the side from blindside flank for the first time since he was appointed as Stuart Hogg’s successor. The team is also not at full strength as Townsend only had Scottish-based players to choose from, with players of the calibre of Adam Hastings, Chris Harris, Josh Bayliss and Hogg all unavailable as the Test falls outside the international window.
For Australia: The return of Michael Hooper headlines the Wallaby squad. The 30-year-old flank, the Wallabies’ most capped skipper, withdrew on the eve of August’s Test against Argentina in Mendoza, saying he was not in the “right mindset” to lead his country. He then sat out the remainder of the Rugby Championship before being included in the squad for the tour of Europe. Hooper hasn’t played for Australia since their series-deciding loss at home to England in July but now rejoins a back row that features club colleague Jed Holloway at blindside flank and Rob Valetini at No.8. He is one of several changes to Australia’s matchday 23, with Queensland captain Tate McDermott earning his first start of the 2022 campaign at scrumhalf, partnering Bernard Foley who will line-up for his first Test against the Scots since 2017. Tom Banks has been reinstalled at full-back, with Brumbies flyer Tom Wright on the left wing and Hunter Paisami at inside centre. Up front, Nick Frost is set to make his second start at Test level when the Wallabies take the field at Murrayfield on Saturday, partnering Brumbie teammate Cadeyrn Neville in the second row. James Slipper will captain the side from loosehead prop in his 124th Test.
Head to head
Prediction
@rugby365com: Scotland by eight points
Teams
Scotland: 15 Ollie Smith, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Blair Kinghorn, 9 Ali Price, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie (captain), 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Sam Skinner, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 WP Nel, 19 Glen Young, 20 Jack Dempsey, 21 George Horne, 22 Ross Thompson, 23 Damien Hoyland.
Australia: 15 Tom Banks, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Tom Wright, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Tate McDermott, 8 Rob Valetini, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Jed Holloway, 5 Cadeyrn Neville, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 David Porecki, 1 James Slipper (captain).
Replacements: 16 Folau Fainga’a, 17 Matt Gibbon, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Ned Hanigan, 20 Pete Samu, 21 Nic White, 22 Noah Lolesio, 23 Jock Campbell.
Date: Saturday, October 29
Venue: Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Kick-off: 17.30 (16.30 GMT; 03.30 AEDT Sunday, October 30)
Expected weather: Light rain and a gentle breeze. High of 14°C and a low of 11°C
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson (England), Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (England)
