The game was opened unusually with Noah Lolesio shanking the kick-off, which saw the ball travel about 5 metres, before a Scotland knock-on let Australia off the hook
Australia were the first to break the deadlock, having enjoyed 77% possession, much of it in the Scottish 22-metre area. Scotland’s defence eventually cracked and drifted offside, gifting Lolesio a shot at goal from 20 metres out. He seized the opportunity to score the Wallabies’ first points of the game and took a 0-3 lead, after the 12th minute.
Scotland and Finn Russell had been awarded a penalty after Australia failed to retreat. Referee Chris Busby then advanced it 10 metres, bringing the posts well within Russell’s range. However, the ball rattled off the right upright, leaving the score at 0-3 in Australia’s favour.
Scotland’s score did not remain at zero for long. A clever lineout play saw Scottish captain Sione Tuipulotu crash over the try line in front of his grandmother, who was attending her first-ever game. Russell made no mistake with the conversion, extending Scotland’s lead to four points (7-3).
Scotland’s attack began to click, but the Wallabies' defence held firm, repeatedly denying Scotland with bone-crunching tackles from the Australian side that kept them in the contest.
Once again, Scotland went back on the attack and stretched the Australian defence in the hope of finding a breakthrough. However, Scotland’s handling errors proved costly and brought an end to several potential attacking opportunities—a recurring theme of the first half.
Australian scrum-half Jake Gordon [icke the ball up from the scrum and kick it into the Murrayfield crowd, choosing to finish the half and head into the sheds with the Tuipulotu try the difference between the two sides.
Halftime: Scotland 7 Australia 3
The second half got off to a quick start, with the Scottish side launching an attack straight away. The first points of the half went Scotland’s way in the 43rd minute, as a successful penalty kick from Russell extended their lead to a converted try.
This lead didn’t last long, just two minutes later Scotland conceded a cheap penalty at the breakdown, which gifted Lolesio a shot at goal—a chance he didn’t miss, reducing Australia’s deficit to four points.
Scotland had turned over the ball on their own 22-metre line after thwarting a potential Wallabies attack. A fantastic break by Blair Kinghorn and an offload to Ben White had set up the play. A deft chip kick from White had been followed by a big collision with Australia’s Tom Wright. Referee Busby and the TMO had seen no foul play in the contest and awarded Australia a goal-line dropout.
This had seemed to energise the Scottish attack further, as a series of phases and half-breaks had culminated in Duhan van der Merwe collecting the ball, stepping inside the Australian defenders, and crashing over to score Scotland’s second try of the game and claim the top spot for Scotland's All-Time top try scorer (29) breaking one free to Darcy Graham.
Finn Russell made no mistake with the conversion, taking the score to 17-6 in favour of the home side.
A breakout out of nowhere from the magician Graham, followed by a floated pass over the top to back-row Josh Bayliss, who had only been on the field for a matter of minutes. The back-row channelled his inner winger and went around the Australian defenders to power over for one of the tries of the series. Russell's conversion drifted just wide of the uprights, taking the score to 22-6.
Scotland were once again on the attack. A brilliant pass inside from prop Zander Fagerson saw Van der Merwe skate through the Australian defence. A winding run, followed by a pass over the top to Huw Jones, allowed him to return the ball inside to Blair Kinghorn, who gently lifted it to Russell, which allowed him to dot down for Scotland’s third try, which took the score to 27-6. Russell was unable to add the extras.
When the Wallabies seemed dead and buried, a kick from Tate McDermott saw debutant Harry Potter use his pace to get in front of the chasing Scottish defenders. With a wizard-like finish he dotted the ball down, there was much deliberation from the TMO and referee Busby, who deemed the ball to have been grounded before his foot had gone dead. The extras were added by Ben Donaldson closing Australia’s deficit to 13 points (27-13).
Too little, too late. Despite a last-ditch Australian attempt, Scotland’s monstrous defence stood tall and kept the Australians out. Holding the ball up over the line saw referee Busby bring the game to a close, ending the Wallabies' hopes of an 84th-minute Grand Slam.
An emphatic 27-13 win for Scotland and three wins out of four during the 2024 Autumn Nations Series, leaves them in good stead for the 2025 Guinness Men's Six Nations.
