Scotland suffered a major blow even before the first whistle when captain Sione Tuipulotu was ruled out with a knee injury. Tom Jordan replaced him in midfield and Rory Darge took over the leadership role.
Both are stand-up operators, but any Scotland team without Tuipulotu is a weaker team.
Huge question marks hung over both men before departure, with Scotland having been blown away by the All Blacks last weekend while the Wallabies were on fire at Twickenham.
Depending on how things went – Scotland were strong favorites – it was going to be a redemption of sorts for one and all sorts of retaliation for the other. This was all in play until the end.
Scotland now move above Wales into fourth place in the Northern Hemisphere table, but their lack of a bonus point on Sunday could cost them dearly. But they will win.
In the most disjointed encounter, the home team drew first blood. They had the ball in the opening moments, wasted a chance to score on a lineout maul, but then struck at the second request.
Finn Russell started it all with a lovely snatcher that put Carter Gordon in trouble. This eventually led to a scrum and men for Scotland. An isolated Fagerson on the right touchline had been calling for him for what must have seemed an age. When this happened, it was the simplest task before him: sliding.
Russell missed the conversion, but he missed something – or someone – straight after and it proved costly. One of the many factors holding Scotland back is the ease with which it is possible to score points – and that was another argument for the prosecution.
Rob Valetini and Gordon helped put the Wallabies on the front foot but, when they swept towards the left touchline, it could all have ended had Russell tackled Potter. He didn’t – and the wing continued on to end up in class.
Scotland thought they had scored straight after, but the ball was ruled out of play – a marginal call – when Kyle Steyn lofted a volley in the air towards Graham, who hit the ground.
Gn sports
