Stocked Scotland set to end Wallabies’ winning streak

Two entertaining rugby playing nations will wrap up a busy Autumn Nations Series weekend on Sunday when Scotland host Australia at Murrayfield.

While the Scots are on home soil and enter on the back of a clinical and confidence building 60-14 win over Tonga last week, they know this Wallabies outfit cannot be underestimated. One significant reason to be wary is that Dave Rennie’s charges come into this fixture riding an impressive five-match winning streak.

Australia have overcome South Africa (twice), Argentina (twice) and most recently Japan in Oita, with Rennie’s methods and up-and-coming players to the fore. Exciting youngsters such as Len Ikitau and Rob Valetini have grown into the gold shirt while the calm presence of Quade Cooper, Samu Kerevi and fellow experienced internationals has taken the Wallabies to a new level, which is why the absence of their star fly-half and centre due to club commitments is such a big blow.

Indeed, the Wallabies will sorely miss this influential duo and it is a shame not just for Australian rugby fans but also supporters watching around the world that we won’t get to see their best in action against first Scotland and then England and Wales. How their absence will impact performances is a question mark.

That is no doubt a big advantage to the Scots, who contrastingly welcome back the likes of full-back Stuart Hogg, centre Chris Harris, wing Duhan van der Merwe, fly-half Finn Russell, second-row Sam Skinner and replacement back Adam Hastings to what’s a hugely impressive matchday squad this weekend. In front of a passionate Murrayfield crowd, this promises to be a wonderfully entertaining occasion and the perfect spectacle to wrap up the Autumn Nations Series round.

Last time they met

It’s been a while since that 2017 meeting in Edinburgh when Scotland ran out 53-24 winners at home. Tries from Byron McGuigan (2), Ali Price, Sean Maitland, Jonny Gray, Huw Jones, John Barclay and Stuart McInally helped the Scots to victory, with the Wallabies playing with 14 men for the whole of the second half, due to Sekope Kepu being red carded for an illegal clearout on 39 minutes. Australia’s tries in defeat came via Tevita Kuridrani (2), Kurtley Beale and Lopeti Timani.

What they said

Scotland head coach Townsend explained why he decided to go with such an established XV after sending out something of an experimental line-up against Tonga.

“While there were several positives to take from the win against Tonga we face a very different opponent in Australia this week,” he revealed ahead of the fixture.

“They are coming into this fixture clearly off the back of good results and full of confidence, so we will need to bring focus, accuracy and aggression for the full 80 minutes.

“We have been able to select an experienced team with the availability of our players outside of Scotland and aim to use the remaining Autumn Nations Series fixtures to build our game through improving week on week.”

Meanwhile, Australia head coach Rennie spoke highly about possible debutant Izaia Perese, who joins the experienced Kurtley Beale on the bench for this match.

“Izzy is someone who’s been on our radar for a little while now and has been impressive in training and deserves his chance,” he said.

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with a number of players in the Scotland set up and we’ve prepared knowing how tough of a challenge it’s going to be at Murrayfield on Sunday.”

Players to watch

After the wing combination of Rufus McLean and Kyle Steyn stole the show last weekend, the pressure has been put on Duhan van der Merwe to respond. Granted he did score two himself while on Premiership duty for Worcester Warriors and he’ll be desperate to replicate that form as he returns to international duty on Sunday. Darcy Graham was excellent at full-back against Tonga and returns to wing this weekend and this combination, with Hogg at 15, is set to excite.

The return of towering second-row Rory Arnold is a significant boost to Australia, particularly following those backline absentees to club duty in Japan. Arnold is such a handful not just at the set-piece but also around the field and with Will Skelton also back on duty in gold, albeit via the bench, the Wallabies look strong at lock. There’s genuine excitement around Rennie’s project right now and with Arnold and Skelton returning and on song, their pack goes up another level.

Main head-to-head

It is hard not to look past the battle at fly-half here as Finn Russell and James O’Connor face off in a fascinating contest. Russell comes back into the international fold while O’Connor has taken over the playmaking duties from Cooper, who has been excellent in recent months. The pressure is therefore on the 31-year-old Australia fly-half to continue the recent progress the team’s made and really rise to the occasion as a leader with young centres playing outside him. Russell meanwhile is set to play his usual brand that will keep Australia guessing and he should relish the spotlight after a frustrating time with the Lions.

Prediction

On paper and with home field advantage in their corner, it feels as though the Scots have the slight edge on Sunday. Australia, while missing two crucial cogs in their backline, will be no pushovers though and we expect there to be no more than a score separating these two for most of the game. Scotland to win by 6.

Previous results

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, Australia
2009: Scotland won 9-8 in Edinburgh
2006: Australia won 44-15 in Edinburgh

The teams

Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg (c), 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Sam Skinner, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Oli Kebble, 19 Jamie Hodgson, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 George Horne, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Kyle Steyn

Australia: 15 Andrew Kellaway, 14 Tom Wright, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Jordan Petaia, 10 James O’Connor, 9 Nic White, 8 Rob Valetini, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Rob Leota, 5 Izack Rodda, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Folau Fainga’a, 1 James Slipper
Replacements: 16 Connal McInerney, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Pete Samu, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Kurtley Beale, 23 Izaia Perese

Date: Sunday, November 7
Venue: BT Murrayfield
Kick-off: 14:15 GMT
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (England), AJ Jacobs (South Africa)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)