Scotland v Australia preview: Gregor Townsend’s men to weather conditions and end ‘rejuvenated’ Wallabies’ Grand Slam hopes
Scotland wing Duhan van der Merwe and Australia centres Len Ikitau and Joseph Suaalii will be players to watch.
A combined total of three points has separated Scotland and Australia in their most recent two outings and we expect something similar at Murrayfield on Sunday.
For the Scots this is their final fixture of the year while the Wallabies have one more match after this when they end their prolonged campaign against Ireland.
But all of Australia‘s focus will be on a cold and wet Murrayfield this weekend as they look to build on what’s been a perfect tour thus far that has seen major progress made. A pulsating late triumph over England at Allianz Stadium and a canter against Wales in Cardiff has provided an injection of positivity and hope for the future.
Indeed, the Wallabies under Joe Schmidt are reborn and look unrecognisable from the Eddie Jones era, as players snubbed by the latter are flourishing under the former. Tails are well and truly up as they arrive in Scotland confident, eager to move a step closer to a year-end Grand Slam, which Australia last achieved in 1984.
The Scots will no doubt be keen to defuse that optimism, however, as many of their front-line stars return looking to bounce back from the loss to South Africa.
It promises a great deal as a spectacle – weather permitting – as two sides that offer entertaining brands of rugby meet, with plenty of history between them adding to the subplot.
Where the game will be won
Australia possibly have the edge in terms of gainline carriers as forward trio Rob Valetini, Angus Bell and Will Skelton are three of the best in the business and, if they can establish dominance in this area, then front-foot ball will allow their talented backline to hit their straps, thus causing the Scots problems.
That leads on to how important execution will be as Scotland and Finn Russell will have no doubt been hurt by being kept try-less by South Africa a fortnight ago and improvement in this facet is key. If they are similarly wasteful it will cost them as this Australia attack is not, as Wales and England found out.
Last time they met
What they said
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend is desperate for victory over Australia that would provide his team with an incredible springboard heading into next year.
“[If we win] it will give us a massive boost going into the Six Nations because we’re playing a quality side,” he said.
“It’ll be frustrating if we don’t deliver a performance that we’ve been working towards. If we don’t at least match that performance of South Africa – that’s what we’re building towards.”
Meanwhile, Wallabies head coach Schmidt believes their hosts are at a very different stage of their journey and touched on the difficult conditions this week.
“The week has been complicated, with the freezing conditions ruling out training fields but the group have adapted well to the situation,” he said.
“The core of the Scotland team has been together for a number of years. They’re cohesive and combative and we will need to be at our best on Sunday.”
Players to watch
It must be incredibly beneficial and healthy for Scotland having their two starting wingers jostling to be the leading try-scorer in the country’s history and in Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham we have quite the ongoing battle that is seemingly toing and froing as both currently sit on 29 crossings.
The wide men couldn’t wish for a more creative and destructive backline to feed off and, as ever, much of the expectation comes through Finn Russell as the Scotland number 10 needs to stamp his authority on Sunday’s match against Noah Lolesio, a fly-half that looks rejuvenated under Schmidt’s tutelage.
Elsewhere for the Wallabies, their two hat-trick heroes from last week, Tom Wright and Matt Faessler, will no doubt have the taste for more tries.
Main head-to-head
The return of Joseph Suaalii to the starting midfield will command plenty of pre-game airtime and his link-up with Len Ikitau looks like a match made in heaven. Even though it is early days in their partnership there are green shoots of promise and if they can win the battle with Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones then Australia will go a long way to coming out on top. All four are top class and could this possibly be a Lions series rehearsal too?
Prediction
What a fixture we have in prospect as there is star quality all over the Murrayfield turf, with the backlines in particular catching the eye right off the bat. The Wallabies are most definitely buying into the gospel according to Schmidt but it would take some effort to replicate their recent performances, especially in such inclement weather, which is why we’re just edging towards the well-rested hosts and a Scotland win by three points.
Previous results
2022: Australia won 16-15 in Edinburgh
2021: Scotland won 15-13 in Edinburgh
2017: Scotland won 53-24 in Edinburgh
2017: Scotland won 24-19 in Sydney
2016: Australia won 23-22 in Edinburgh
2015: Australia won 35-34 in London
2013: Australia won 21-15 in Edinburgh
2012: Scotland won 9-6 in Newcastle
2009: Scotland won 9-8 in Edinburgh
The teams
Scotland: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (c), 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Dylan Richardson, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Alex Craig, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 George Horne, 22 Tom Jordan, 23 Kyle Rowe
Australia: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Harry Potter, 10 Noah Lolesio, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson (c), 7 Carlo Tizzano, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Jeremy Williams, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Matt Faessler, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 Isaac Kailea, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Max Jorgensen
Date: Sunday, November 24
Venue: Scottish Gas Murayfield
Kick-off: 13:40 GMT
Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland), Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)