Scotland v Australia: Five takeaways as Gregor Townsend's men ...

Following Scotland’s 27-13 win over the Wallabies in the Autumn Nations Series, here are our five key takeaways from Murrayfield. 

A packed-out Murrayfield got exactly what they were hoping for from their men who downed the Wallabies in commanding fashion on Sunday.

After sustained pressure and possession, the hosts made it count through captain Sione Tuipulotu, who deserved the score in front of his grandmother after really stepping up nicely into the captaincy role for Scotland.

The Scots maintained dominance but never ran away on the scoreboard until three tries from Duhan van der Merwe, Josh Bayliss and Finn Russell in the second period, rendering the sole Wallabies try from Harry Potter moot.

It was a Test that showed how well Scotland have been developing in a performance that displayed maturity (more on that below), as well as how far the Wallabies are from being back to their former self ahead of an important period of rugby for the nation.

2024 has been a steady year of improvement for Scotland and this was shown to its fullest extent against Australia.

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Gregor Townsend’s side wasted a bucketful of chances in the first 50 minutes of the game, but they never gave up hope and eventually made their dominance count, and this is the exact sign of their maturity as a side this year. In years past, they would have got frustrated with their inability to convert and could have even lost the game off the back of it.

Elsewhere, they could easily have crumbled under the serious bombardment the Wallabies threw their way, but they stood tall and battened down the hatches to limit the visitors to just one try – which came from a well-worked strike move.

Scotland have always been capable of playing some truly delicious rugby – think back to the wins over England in recent years – but they’ve never quite been able to put that out for a full 80 minutes. However, they pretty much did that against Australia. Things just clicked. Scotland played with serious speed, but it was controlled chaos, not the usual frantic nature we’ve become used to.

This year, and this autumn especially, Scotland have really showed they can be the consistent beast everyone desperately wants them to become. The key leaders – Russell, Tuipulotu, Jamie Ritchie and Rory Darge – all stepped up at crucial times for their side when they needed them to.

After a positive opening to the Autumn Nations Series, which included victories over England and Wales, they suffered a reality check at Murrayfield. The attacking fluency has been a feature of the Wallabies’ performances on this year-end tour, but they were well handled by the Scottish defence on Sunday.

In fairness, they did not lack for chances but, unlike at Twickenham and the Principality Stadium, Joe Schmidt’s side failed to take them. The hosts were mightily impressive in spoiling the Australian ball at just the right – or wrong if you’re an Aussie – moment.

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There is still plenty to like about this team but there is no doubt that it is a setback for the Wallabies. It means that their encounter with Ireland arguably takes on added importance as they seek to gauge where they really are as a squad looking ahead to 2025.

This Test was a stark reminder of the massive challenge that awaits the Wallabies next year as the British & Irish Lions tour Australia in the mid-year window.

Scotland controlled the Wallabies just about throughout in this one which is very concerning for Schmidt. What makes it worse is how poor their basics were, especially in the set-piece, where the Andy Farrell’s Lions will certainly be polished.

All is not lost as we have seen just how much can change in a short space of time, but Schmidt will have many sleepless nights between now and that series as he looks for a way to somehow engineer a win. It is more positive around the Wallabies but they still have a long way to go.

With Wales struggling and England having their issues, Scotland are probably the second best Home Nation at the moment and, as a result, could have a healthy supply of Lions in Australia. Of course, the 2025 Six Nations will be decisive, but there are plenty who are sticking their hands up at the moment.

Behind the scrum is where their obvious stars reside and the entirety of the backline were excellent on Sunday. Finn Russell is the favourite to take the number 10 shirt next year and he dictated proceedings excellently, while the centre partnership, Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones, excelled once again.

In the back three, in-form wings Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham were lively, and they were ably supported by full-back Blair Kinghorn. When you also add into the mix the consistent excellence of scrum-half Ben White, all seven of those backline players could go to Australia.

There are fewer options up front but Zander Fagerson was busy in the loose and solid in the scrum, while their back-row are a constant thorn for the opposition, whoever starts. They lack the out-and-out power of England or Ireland, which could count against them, but don’t be surprised if a few go.

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