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Murrayfield

It wasn’t the weekend the Wallabies wanted at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium unfortunately when they left it so late to strike those big scores by 27-13 when they were only a few points behind at the break (7-3) courtesy of Harry Potter’s Test debut TRY off the wide left 11 who currently plays for the Western Force.

They could’ve done something better to at least be brave enough against a side who has been at their best in recent years to set the difference between winning and losing. That would have seen them go one step closer towards emulating their winning 1984 grand slam tour against the Home Nations group of teams consisting of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

Now most of the 2024 Autumn Nations Series matches when our Southern Hemisphere teams flew over to play against the North’s best on their home turf across Europe were done and dusted, there’s one more left to wrap it all up this Sunday morning which would be Ireland v Wallabies at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium. 

It should be one hell of a cracker no matter what happens in mark of Joe Schmidt’s grand reunion who spent the last decade there as the Irish head coach and now he still has unfinished business at our Rugby Australia HQ in Moore Park. Other than that, it’s been great having him onboard so far who knows how to win games including the last two matches earlier this month against England and of course the beleaguered Wales from a few times before during our home two-match series from July, and if it wasn’t for that poor start, he could’ve helped them win that Bledisloe I on home soil too – more to come in 2025.

Love how Melbourne-born skipper Sione Tuipulotu made his huge family proud in front of his Scottish grandma and brother Mosese, also from the Burn in Frankston with Sione together, who brings tonnes of steel to plow one, push over, and then race one over the line all game on the inside 12.

Meanwhile, Duhan Van Der Merwe has to be the one from the left wing 11, having bossed that cat v mouse game out of the hat – as his contribution allowed the Scots to sign off a successful deal of tries with an excellent pair of hands along the way.

Just couldn’t get enough of the Scottish free-flowing attack every time they crack the code on the counter & the home fans have been buzzing that ended the Wallabies’ good start of this Spring Tour.

And reserve half-back Tate McDermott should’ve been starting just like how his Reds team-mate Fraser McReight made 7 on his own – shame it was at the right place off the back of Harry Potter’s debut TRY but also wrong timing unfortunately.

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Australia kicked off their Autumn internationals against old foes Scotland at Murrayfield stadium in a tight contest that saw them run out 16-15 winners.

Despite Australia having won 21 out of the 33 matches against the men in blue, they’d been the losing side in their last 3 Tests and were looking for a turnaround in fortunes.

FIRST HALF

The Aussies started strongly but were met by a strong Scottish defence that twice prevented a try in the opening 10 minutes by winning a foul. Tate McDermott was causing Scotland havoc with his direct running and offloads at key moments but it was home team that managed to get on the scoreboard first.

Ollie Smith, making his Murrayfield debut, made fantastic use of a blind pass by Blair Kinghorn to fly through a gap in the Aussie defence, darting past one defender before scoring a fantastic try. Kinghorn missed the conversion and the 5 point lead didn’t last long. Australia won a penalty just 3 minutes later and fly-half Bernard Foley made no mistake, cutting the deficit to 3 points.

Australia continued to put pressure on the Scotland defence, but again were met by a wall that refused to back down. As the half-time whistle drew close, a scuffle between the two sides broke out and Australia were handed the opportunity to take the lead. Foley, having scored the first kick with ease, maintained his 100% record in the game by splitting the posts and Australia went into the tunnel, 6-5 ahead.

Half-Time: Scotland 5-6 Australia

The crowd roared when the men from Scotland re-entered the field and they were duly rewarded for their enthusiasm just 3 minutes later.

Scotland’s Centre Mark Bennett put in a big tackle in the middle of the pitch and causing a spill. Kinghorn kicked the ball with his feet to good use, smashing it deep into the Wallaby half and chasing it down before it popped up into his arms for him to dive across the line. Kinghorn then scored the conversion, giving the Scottish a 12-6 lead.

Australia were struggling to keep control of the game as they’d done so well in the first half and small mistakes were starting to show. A penalty inside the Aussies 22 handed Kinghorn another 3 points, and Scotland a 9 point cushion. In the 55th minute Australia were given a man advantage after a dangerous tackle was deemed just a yellow to Lock Glen Young. The men in yellow looked to take advantage of the extra man and they did so fantastically on the hour mark.

Good movement and passing on the left-hand side of the field pushed Scotland back to their 22, then a quick switch of direction to the opposite side helped gave Australia’s captain James Slipper an easy try. Foley scored the conversion to make it a 2 point game. Australia’s fightback continued when they won a penalty on the right-hand side of the posts and Foley stepped up to score the critical 3 points.

With just 10 minutes to go and Australia ahead by a single point, fans of both teams were on the edge of their seats! Both teams were right at each other, ready to capitalise on any mistake the other made, knowing that any further score could possibly end the match.

With 2 minutes left, Australia were penalised for holding onto the ball in a ruck and gave Kinghorn the chance to win it. The wind was blowing hard and the kick was hit too wide to the left of the posts, handing Australia the win.

Full-Time: Scotland 15-16 Australia

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