Scotland end Wallabies Grand Slam hopes with quality victory

Scotland have inflicted the Wallabies’ first loss of their Grand Slam tour after a 27-13 win in Edinburgh.

The Scots were at their very best as they kept the Australians under pressure for the majority of the match.

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They could do little wrong in the second half as they were clinical in attack to go with a near-perfect defensive performance.

"It was intense. I felt we were in the contest, particularly in the first half and we probably should've converted a few more points with the pressure we had," coach Joe Schmidt said post-game.

"The breakdown was pretty messy and I think that's just the way Scotland like it. It makes it very difficult to construct your play and we also found it difficult trying to get past guys around the breakdown and that's something we've got to solve.

"I thought we just fell off too many tackles. I think if you miss over 30 tackles in an international then you're just not going to win them."

The Wallabies were struck down with another late change following Matt Faessler’s calf injury earlier in the week, with lock Jeremy Williams ruled out with illness.

It was a tense start for both sides as the Australians were first to add points through Noah Lolesio’s boot.

From this, Scotland's pressure dictated the contest, with the Wallabies’ maul and scramble defence keeping them at bay.

It led to the first try of the afternoon through Australian-born skipper Sione Tuipulotu, the centre running a hard line from a long lineout to crash over.

The Wallabies’ injury woes continued when centre Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii came off second-best from a tackle, clutching his wrist/arm.

The 21-year-old left the field and didn’t return, although Wallabies officials remain confident he has avoided serious damage at the current moment.

Scotland kept pressing but excellent defence from Joe Schmidt’s side prevented any further points for the half as the hosts took a 7-3 lead into the break.

Ultimately, Scotland were relentless and found their way over through winger Duhan van der Merwe in the corner to start the second half.

The Wallabies looked to fight their way back into the contest, with their rolling maul shut down by a fierce Scottish pack.

Max Jorgensen almost pulled off a stunning try out of nothing after collecting a toe ahead from Rob Valetini, with Tate McDermott’s cross-field kick covered by Tuipulotu.

In the end, the Scots were too strong as a great run from Darcy Graham broke the Australians' line, with Josh Bayless showing enough strength to touch down in the corner. 

This opened the floodgates late as Finn Russell finished off a well-worked move to secure the victory. 

Debutant Harry Potter gave the Australians something to celebrate as he produced some magic to stay in and put down a Tate McDermott grubber kick for a consolation try.

The Wallabies hunted for another late try but a rock-solid defensive line held them out in a perfect summation of the 80 minutes.

Scotland 27 (Tries: Tuipulotu, van der Merwe, Bayless, Russell; Cons: Russell 2/4; Pens: Russell 1/2) def Wallabies 13 (Tries: Potter; Cons: Donaldson 1/1; Pens: Lolesio 2/2)