Wallabies show ‘great grit’ to hang on for thrilling one-point rugby union win over Scotland
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The Wallabies have snatched victory from defeat, beating Scotland 16-15 in an all-out thriller in Edinburgh for the first Test of the spring tour.
Coach Dave Rennie admitted he was ‘relieved’ to take the heart-pounding victory, which was only possible after Scottish flyhalf Blair Kinghorn missed an easy penalty from the front right as time passed at the iconic Murrayfield Stadium.
The Australians hadn’t won on the famous pitch since 2016, having lost their last three games against the Scots; with the win a huge boost to morale after a disappointing end to the Rugby Championship in August and September.
It felt like a jailbreak card for the Wallabies, with Scotland having the upper hand for most of the match; but missed some gold scoring changes and failed to capitalize on an astonishing 15 penalties from Australia.
The Wallabies have won the Hopetoun Cup after beating Scotland 16-15 in Edinburgh on Sunday morning (AEST)
Wallabies players celebrate after Scotland’s missed penalty gave the Aussies victory when all hope seemed lost
But at the end of the day, all that matters is the scoreboard, which says the Wallabies won by one point – and Rennie praised the toughness on his part to get the job done with their backs against the wall.
“After half time we got a bit of a gap, an opportunistic try and we are 15-6 down, but the guys showed a lot of character and fought hard for each other and managed to hold on,” he said after the game. .
“We’ve worked really hard and it’s nice to end the tour with a win.
“We have a lot more in us — we need to be a lot more clinical when we come to their end because we had plenty of opportunities,” said Rennie.
The starting line-up has gone through five changes since losing the Bledisloe Cup in September, but most crucial of all was returning ex-skipper Michael Hooper after a self-imposed mental health hiatus.
Australia was thoroughly beaten by the ferocious Scottish attackers, but it wasn’t due to a lack of effort from Hooper, who immediately returned to his best.
Michael Hooper returned to the Wallabies triumphantly after a mental health hiatus, and his demolition work was pivotal to the squad in victory
Hooper celebrated his 31st birthday on the day of the competition and said he was happy to be back but refused to look too far into the future – with the old adage to take it day by day.
“I enjoyed it – it took a long time, there is still quite a bit to go, but I just enjoyed the game tonight, it was good,” he told Stan Sport after the win.
“We showed a lot of spirit, this team always has, but to come away with a win is great.
‘Purely a day – that’s what I’ve tried to do so far. I enjoyed being in the mix again. I want to grow my game and compete in these great stadiums every week and go from there,” Hooper said.
Wallabies coach Dave Rennie was ‘relieved’ his squad took the win and praised the squad’s toughness but knows there is still much to improve
Before the game, Rennie said he wanted the Wallabies to focus on getting better at the ‘collision game’ and collapse, but Hooper said this is still a work in progress; with massive matches against the two best teams in the world (France and Ireland) coming up.
“The Scots were good on our ball,” he said.
“We had some really good attacking passages, but the Scots turned us around pretty well and denied some of our entry into the 22. That was a bit frustrating there as we have a lot more to show in attack.”
Wallabies scrum half Tate McDermott looked electric at number 9 after being called to the start before a high tackle ended his night, with the youngster likely suffering a concussion
It was Scotland who opened the scoring just 11 minutes into the game, when fullback Ollie Smith passed five hapless Aussie defenders to plant the ball down, with Kinghorn missing the relatively easy conversion.
Minutes later, winger Sione Tuipulotu dropped the ball cold just yards from what would become a sure try, with the Wallabies taking a 6-5 lead at halftime thanks to two penalties from Bernard Foley.
The Scots took the lead early in the second half with a brilliant effort from Kinghorn, with great defensive pressure forcing a fumble from Foley.
Blair Kinghorn (center) defeated Wallabies winger Andrew Kellaway (second from right) in a scintillating 45m runaway attempt
Kinghorn then pushed the ball forward twice and just beat Australian winger Andrew Kellaway and scored a sensational 45m runaway try, before a penalty opened their lead to 15-6.
Scotland were lucky that Glen Young was not ejected after an ugly clean-out on Aussie scrum half Tate McDermott; with the diminutive No. 9 standing strong over the maul despite Young coming towards him.
Young just got a yellow card despite the shocking head-high shot, and McDermott was unable to return; questioning him ahead of next weekend’s Test against France in a devastating blow to the young half.
The Wallabies came back into the game when they took advantage of Scotland being one man behind, with skipper James Slipper scoring and narrowing the gap to just two points.
The wily Nic White, who replaced McDermott, cleverly took a penalty from the Scot offside and Foley duly put the team ahead of one point with nine minutes to go.
A dejected Blair Kinghorn (right) despairs after missing a penalty from right front that would have given Scotland a thrilling last minute
Wallabies players celebrate after Kinghorn missed goal, while Taniela Tupou (kneeling) breathes after his penalty nearly cost them victory
Sadly, all seemed lost and Australia seemed almost certain to be heading for another heartbreaking defeat, as prop Taniela Tupou conceded a coach-killing penalty almost right in front of the goal.
Kinghorn stepped up to take the penalty as time went on, but it was instead the raucous home crowd who were left heartbroken as the flyhalf’s kick sailed just to the left of the uprights.
Australia takes on the imposing side of Les Bleus at Stade de France next Sunday morning (AEST), while the Scots take on Fiji on Saturday in Murrayfield.