Scotland
15
Match Complete
Australia
13
| F. Russell |  | 68 | ||
| 64 | | J. O'Connor | ||
| E. Ashman |  | 58 | ||
| 45 |  | J. O'Connor | ||
| 43 | | R. Leota | ||
| 39 | | J. O'Connor | ||
| F. Russell | | 23 | ||
| H. Watson | | 21 |
| 2 | Tries | 1 | ||
| 1 | Conversions | 1 | ||
| 1 | Penalty Goals | 2 | ||
| 0 | Field Goals | 0 |
The Wallabies will look to make it six wins in a row by defeating an experienced Scotland side at Murrayfield, Edinburgh. But to do so the Australian side will need to overcome some significant turmoil that has impacted their preparations. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 1:15am (AEDT).
Wallabies coach Dave Rennie has made four changes to his starting lineup as a result of both injury and the club v country issues that cropped up after the match against Japan.
There are two changes up front with Allan Alaalatoa starting instead of Taniela Tupou while Rory Arnold will make a memorable return to international duty after not playing since the World Cup in 2019.
In the backs, James O’Connor will make his first start of 2021 as he partners Nic White in the halves and Jordan Petaia starts on the wing with Andrew Kellaway moving to wing to replace Reece Hodge who is still out injured.
Joining Arnold on the comeback train are Will Skelton and Kurtley Beale who have joined up with the squad from their respective French clubs. Both offer valuable talents off the bench that will be crucial to Australia in the final phases of the match.
Excitingly, Rennie has picked Izaia Perese on the bench with the centre likely to make his debut in the second half. The Waratahs player was part of the squad for the 2017 Rugby Championship but never got a start.
Scotland coach Gregor Townsend has only made one change to his starting line-up compared to the team that ended the 2021 Six Nations with an impressive victory against France in Paris earlier this year. The change sees Edinburgh loosehead prop Pierre Schoeman earn his second cap.
Townsend selected a much more experimental side when they went up against Tonga last weekend but despite winning that game 60 – 14, the coach has gone back to the tried and trusted players for this big clash against the Wallabies.
With Finn Russell at fly-half, Scotland will be a potent attacking threat but the battle will begin up front where the mobile Scottish pack will want to get dominance over the visitors as early as possible to give Ali Price and Russell as much clean ball to play with as possible.
Prediction
Scotland have the form over the Wallabies, winning their two past encounters and this one is going to be a very tight affair. But the storyline is perfectly set for some Beale magic off the bench and the Wallabies will be celebrating their second tour win come full time.
Wallabies by 3.
Game information
Venue: BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Kick-off: 1:15 am (AEDT)
Live stream: Stan Sport
Betting: Scotland $1.95, Australia $1.85 – odds via PlayUp
Referee: Romain Poite
Teams
Australia
1. James Slipper, 2. Folau Fainga’a, 3. Allan Alaalatoa, 4. Rory Arnold, 5. Izack Rodda, 6. Rob Leota, 7. Michael Hooper (c), 8. Rob Valetini, 9. Nic White, 10. James O’Connor, 11. Jordan Petaia, 12. Hunter Paisami, 13. Len Ikitau, 14. Tom Wright, 15. Andrew Kellaway
Reserves
16. Connal McInerney, 17. Angus Bell, 18. Taniela Tupou, 19. Will Skelton, 20. Pete Samu, 21. Tate McDermott, 22. Kurtley Beale, 23. Izaia Perese
Scotland
1. Pierre Schoeman, 2. George Turner, 3. Zander Fagerson, 4. Sam Skinner, 5. Grant Gilchrist, 6. Jamie Ritchie, 7. Hamish Watson, 8. Matt Fagerson, 9. Ali Price, 10. Finn Russell, 11. Duhan van der Merwe, 12. Sam Johnson, 13. Chris Harris, 14. Darcy Graham, 15. Stuart Hogg (c)
Reserves
16. Ewan Ashman, 17. Jamie Bhatti, 18. Oli Kebble, 19. Jamie Hodgson, 20. Josh Bayliss, 21. George Horne, 22. Adam Hastings, 23. Kyle Steyn
Double Agent
Guest
What's an EQ?
Oliver Matthews
Expert
Yeah the Scots did well to disrupt a lot of the Wallabies rucks and Nic White struggled for a lot of the game as a result I think. JOC is still getting back into the groove I think but even so he had a poor game. He stood far too deep far too often and the Scots defence had plenty of time to organise itself and just shuffle across the pitch when needed. The Wallabies really struggled to put together many decent passages of multi phase play and it would have been interesting to see what would have happened if they'd taken the Scots defence to 9, 10, 11+ phases.
Troy
Guest
Just pointing out with the YC incident that Fagersons tackle on Rodda was high with contact to the head yet no intervention by the TMO. Admittedly Rodda was going down but nonetheless.
cinque
Roar Rookie
Agree. Maybe he wriggled a few inches before placing the ball.
Oliver Matthews
Expert
Oh for sure - it wasn't a perfect performance but he added some genuine threat to the backline when he came on which had been missing. I think Paisami has had a couple of very average tests and I wouldn't be surprised if he's moved to the bench for the England match.
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
Short Arm, I think that White and OConnor were a tad 6s and 7s due to sharing the playmaking duties. I can’t wait for Nick’s breakdown of this game, and to see what Rennie creates in next week’s game faces.
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
That’s okay biltong, I’m just relieved that Quade wasn’t blamed. (Though it’s still early).
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
“ Back to Chieka ways for the Wallabies” Jim, it is arguable that there are several counterpoints to this, even if the scoreline and the scattergun approach seems reminiscent.
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
Wright made a couple of very unprofessional choices, but that aside I thought he did well. I expect that Rennie’s hammer will be applied above his ears, not below them. Also thought Leota’s try was a tad ‘overcelebrated’. It was not the winning try in the 81st minute. It should’ve been a quick smoko, then back to work. Scotland had more mental skill in that game, and it was won there, by two points.
Wallabies_Larkham
Roar Rookie
Ozinsa..if you recall wallabies was playing very poor as soon as QC and whitey was substituted against Los pumas...think it was both tests
Wallabies_Larkham
Roar Rookie
Noooo marshy...maybe Duncan P but Noah needs others to help with game management
Wallabies_Larkham
Roar Rookie
KCOL..whitey service was quite poor at times..tom Wright really is looking to be shelved by DR..
Wallabies_Larkham
Roar Rookie
Oliver I am a perese fan..but at one breakdown he picked up the ball and ran high into the forwards who easily dislodged the ball and Scottish warriors almost went to score from that turn over...
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
“ one thing we have up our sleeve it is the expectation from England that we are write-offs.” Yep. I can’t see many surviving this week’s review with their ego intact. I’m looking at you: Wright White JOC (test kickers kick it out), especially. There were other brain fades that betrayed a slightly unprofessional dependence on hopium. A few things did not go our way. Hopium does not make tackles or score tries when you desperately need them.
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
But we were way off our best. It was frustrating that we couldn’t find the composure to change gears when required
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
He was. And the call by the ref to ignore the high tackle on him was harsh
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
It felt incredibly scrappy. I thought their lineout defence was illegal as they swam down the side and remained there
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
I wondered about that. JOC was hugely disappointing to me. Big risk for England game though. Maybe O’Connor will be better for the run
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
I disagree with most of this
Faith
Roar Rookie
Yup Chronicle - perspective needed