Gudday Cobbers,
Welcome to the match pre/review for the 3rd Test of the Wobblies 2024 Autumn Nations Series. Our recently somewhat less wobbly Wobblies will take to the hallowed turf of the famous Murrayfield Stadium, a wee bit to the south west of Edinburgh Castle, at 1340hrs (Haggis time) on Sunday, 24 November, along with the ever-accommodating local bearers of the Sgian Dubh (literally ‘the faeries sword’) and wearers of the Scots Thistle, to frolic about and butt some heads in the bracing and salubrious Scottish sunshine.
I’ll publish this first iteration on Friday, 22 November (Sydney time) and then come back to do live updating during the match on Monday morning (also Sydney time).
Preamble:
As at writing on Friday, the tour has gone surprisingly well for the Wobbs. We got off to a cracking start a fortnight ago with a ‘so late it was after hours’ 42-37 win for the ages over the Soap Dodgers at Twickers itself. And from the general noise afterwards you could’ve been forgiven for thinking we had answered alchemy and that some kid from western Sydney called Joey Suaalii was akin to the third coming of Christ Himself (after Dizzy Folau).
From there we did donnybrook with Tîm rygbi’r undeb cenedlaethol Cymru (EP?) at sunny Cardiff last weekend. And given the Taffs recent form had hardly been inspiring (as they had not won a single test so far this year), it was no real surprise when the Wobbs came away with a win over the struggling Welsh Dragon. That said, winning 52-20 did raise an eyebrow or two, both in scoring +50 points but also in letting a team that dysfunctional score 20 points against us. But another win it was, and given the parlous state of our trophy cabinet in recent years a welcome win at that.
And so here we find ourselves contemplating Murrayfield at two wins from two starts and newly installed at a dizzyingly high 8th in the world rankings, lining up against the irrepressible Jaapie Exiles Australian Exiles Scots. The Haggis Eaters are ensconced in 6th spot and had shown reasonably good form of late by accounting for the likes of Fiji (57-17) and Portugal (59-21) while making a good show but ultimately going down to South Africa 32-15 some three weeks ago.
Having an eye to history, we first ceilidh with the lads in funny skirts back in October 1929 (won 16-15 by the Wobblies) and have since exchanged pleasantries some 34 times, with the honours split as 22 wins to the southerners and 12 to the Haggis Eaters. In more recent times, since 1998 actually, we’ve played each other for the Hopetoun Cup, a fine piece of Royal Doulton named after John Hope, the 7th Earl of Hopetoun (1860–1908) and first Governor General of Australia, who presided over Aussie Federation in 1901 (y’know, the family BBQ that neither New Zealand nor Western Australia showed up to and have never quite explained why). We’ve battered each other some 16 times over that large lump of glass with the Wobbs carting away the crystal 11 times. That said, our last 10 meetings have heralded a Scots revival with the wins much more evenly spread at 5 apiece, including one win to the Wobbs on a wee evening in 2015 from which the Scots still feel hard done by and just can’t seem to let go.
But history means little in a two horse race. And it means even less when you’re eyeing off some random Begbie-wannabe hardcase in a pub behind the Haymarket Rail Maintenance Depot with a handful of Jaapies, a couple of Ockers, the requisite Kiwi and a few locals in close tow. So, let’s get it on!
See you just prior to kickoff for live updates and chat below.
Teams the last time I checked.
SCOTLAND (15-1): Blair Kinghorn; Darcy Graham, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu (capt), Duhan van der Merwe; Finn Russell, Ben White; Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Jamie Ritchie; Scott Cummings, Grant Gilchrist; Zander Fagerson, Ewan Ashman, Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: Dylan Richardson, Rory Sutherland, Will Hurd, Alex Craig, Josh Bayliss, George Horne, Tom Jordan, Kyle Rowe
WALLABIES (15-1): Tom Wright; Andrew Kellaway, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Harry Potter; Noah Lolesio, Jake Gordon; Harry Wilson (capt), Carlo Tizzano, Rob Valetini; Will Skelton, Jeremy Williams; Allan Alaalatoa, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Angus Bell
Replacements: Billy Pollard, Isaac Kailea, Zane Nonggorr, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Langi Gleeson, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson, Max Jorgensen
First half: Good evening Cobbers and welcome to the show. I’ve got my BBQ Shapes along with my Moccona and here I’m perched. Late news is that one of last week’s two hat-trick try-scorers Matt Faesller is out with a calf injury. Replacing him in the no2 jersey is BPA and Pilly Pollard taking over the no16. But it’s a sunny and bracing 10* afternoon with the breeze picking up from the southwest, leaving the pregame chat as chaff in the wind once referee Chris Busby blew time and Noah Lolesio nudged the kickoff into play.
The kickoff was a shocker, falling well short, was played at by the Scots who knocked on. The ensuring scrum was stable and allowed the Wobbs to rip straight into their work and set up camp and phases around the Scots quarter for the first few minutes. The opening exchanges were characterised by strong Aussie phase possession and turning down a number of 3pt penalty shots for lineouts and so piling the early pressure onto the Scots who were tackling ferociously. But the try didn’t come and so with the benefit of successive penalty advantages around the Scots quarter, the Wobbs eventually took the obvious and the first 3pts were knocked over by Lolly at the 11:30min mark.
A midfield penalty allowed the Scots a pair of lineouts 5m off the Wobbs tryline at 13:30, but a cheeky kick-through from Wee Fin Russell (WFR) dribbled dead and allowed Aussie hearts to go back to their chests. That said, the next period saw the play stay consistently inside the Aussie half, culminating with WFR taking a penalty shot at goal from around the 40m at 20min, but which was unsuccessful, bouncing off the post into the arms of Captain Harry, who then impressed all with presence of mind to call the mark and then smash the pill downfield off his right field to clear the pressure.
However, Scots frustrations were short-lived. At 21min a Scots lineout deep in the Aus quarter was thrown long for Scots Capt Tuipulotu to steam onto it, beat a flat-footed Andrew Kellaway, and careen over for a pie next to the sticks, converted by WFR, and the score was 7-3 at 23min.
A good JAS turnover from the ensuing Lolesio kickoff allowed the Wobbs to set up camp in the Scots quarter, but poor Wobb lineout execution kept the green and gold at bay and saw the Scots pinch a crucial ruck and kick away up field.
Midfield to and fro saw half breaks both ways but not much materialise until the 30min where a penalty for not releasing saw the Wobbs clear mounting pressure from within their quarter, but also saw JAS leave the field ostensibly for a head knock, but also with a clearly injured wrist. This saw Max Jorgensen taking the field, pushing Andrew Kellaway into the centres.
Yet another Wobb breakdown infringement saw the Scots with yet another lineout on the gold 5m line, but again the Scots fluffed their lines to see an Aussie fed scrum on the 5m at about 35min. Scrums, previously a point of concern for the Wobbs given the loss of Tupou and Faesller, have been solid so far, with the Scots not establishing the dominance many expected. And while this 4th scrum of the day was hardly rock-stable, the Wobbs scrum held despite a willing Scots shove and the Aussies cleared their lines. And again, another scrum at 38min allowed 6A’s to go to work on Scots Schoeman and pull a well-earned scrum penalty to see the Wobbs clear further up field, but again poor lineout work meant the Wobbs couldn’t push into the Scots half as the clock wound down to oranges.
Oranges: 7-3 to the Scots. Despite the positive opening minutes for the Wobbs, hard on attack in the Scots midfield, the Scots have had the better of field position and attacking possession overall. Both sides have turned down multiple shots at goal and are clearly willing to run the ball, but it’s the Scots accumulating more attacking sequences and carry metres. So, whilst tackle numbers and penalties are fairly even, it’s the Scots who not only lead on the score board but have also generally seemed to have had the better of the first 40min.
Second half: The second spell saw the pill nudged high and short to good effect for the lads in blue, with a turnover and quick penalty allowing the Scots to turn down another 3pt penalty shot and chase a lineout hard on attack on the Wobbs 5m line, but a wobbly blue throw spoilt their chance. Lineouts are failing at crucial moments for both sides today. That said, another penalty, this time from Tizzano for being over-enthusiastic at the breakdown in front of the sticks, saw WFR nudge the obvious 3pts (finally) and the Scots extend their lead to 10-3 at the 44min mark. That said, a scrappy kickoff reception by the Scots immediately after gifted Tizzy a chance for redemption at the breakdown. And with the penalty so-earned, Lolesio slotted 3pts in reply to shift the score to 10-6.
For those of the heavier persuasion, the scrum battle has been fascinating and, believe it or not, has seen the Wobbs start to get an edge. Of note is that Bell’s shape is completely different this week – long and through the engage, meaning he isn’t getting levered up or down anything like we saw in the previous fortnight. Accordingly, at 47:30min the Scots loosehead Schoeman was penalised for a clear step-out and walk around, allowing the Wobbs to push a lineout to the Scots quarter line. For mine, Alaalatoa is having his best game in quite some time.
However immaturity was again our downfall as good phase work off the ensuing lineout saw the Wobbs rucking under the Scots posts, and the Thistle under seige only for a rush of blood and a fumble to let the Scots break away and pelt downfield hard on counter-attack. The Scots crowd bays for blood when Tom Wright holds his ground in-front of a kick-through on the Wobbs quarter, dropping the penalty-hunting Scots kicker, but ultimately the Ref sees good sense (and holds his nerve) and it’s a drop out for the Wobbs off their tryline at 49min. However, the Scots maintain the pressure though, with ruck after ruck deep in the Wobbs half, until Duhan van der Merwe crashed over out wide in the 50th minute. Conversion slotted by WFR sees the score at 17-6 at 52min and the match in Scotland control.
However, the Wobbs were not going back into their shell and from a Scots penalty in midfield, the Wobbs push to an attacking lineout on the Scots quarter line. Again the lineout was messy, but a Scots knock on saw the Wobbs with a well-placed attacking scrum. But again, the field position and possession come to nought. Note Kailea, Pollard, Nonggorr and Frost are all on and the scrum is strong and steady.
More penalties to the Wobbs saw more lineouts, but again poor execution sees no points scored and the pressure the alleviated when a strangled Wobbly lineout maul gave the scrum-feed to the Scots, and then scrum penalty to the Scots, for WFR to clear the blue lines and send the pill back towards halfway at around the 60min mark.
62min saw Scotland push a lineout to the Wobbs 5m as Tate McDermott takes the field replacing Gordan. But again, Scotland fluff the lineout. The mess sees BobbyV hack the ball downfield and suddenly the Wobbs are hard on attack, 10m off the Scots line, against a broken defence-line and with a chance to turn the game. But true to the match so-far, the big moment isn’t realised and a poorly considered cross-field kick from Tate McDermott sees the Scots mark the ball only 5m off their try line and so clear the pressure. That was head in hands stuff from Tate. With the breakaway and counter being so fast and the ruck so fluid, simple catch and pass hands was all that was required for an Aussie try under the posts there. That rush of blood may ultimately be telling.
And such it turned out to be as, from otherwise non-descript midfield meanderings, not long after Scotland’s Darcy Graham made a great little jinking break through a Kellaway half tackle and in a flash the Scots were hard on attack. Smart passing to the Aussie left saw Scottish no20 Bayliss break away down the Scots right flank and, to the delight of the crowd, dive to score out wide at 67min. WFR missed the conversion, but it’s 22-6 to Scotland at 68min and it’s now a long way back for the Wobbs with the Scots dominating play.
Coming onto the closing 10min of the match, the play was all blue. WFR is running a masterclass in game management and the match is slipping away from the green and gold. Then, from a midfield lineout, Scotland’s own van der Merwe decided to go wandering around the Wobbly quarter line as though he was covered in spiders, and a few short passes later Kinghorn found WFR in support, who tripped over the tryline and collected his pie at 71min to then slot the conversion for good measure. 27-6 to the Scots.
The kickoff saw another penalty and another lineout chance to the Wobbs, but again poor handling and option-taking brought it to nowt as Ben Donaldson replaced Noah Lolesio at 72min. It’s the little moments that are letting the Wobbs down, while the lads in blue have their tails up and the Scots crowd are bellowing Flower of Scotland in raptures as time ticks away.
74:40min saw some front of lineout creativity from a Wobb midfield throw to pick up Tate McD in a jump-through, who grubbered ahead, and after an age of watching the TMO try to find a reason not to award a pie, it’s Harry Potter (on debut) awarded the Wobblies only pie of the day so far. The conversion by Donaldson was sound and so it’s 27-13 at 76min, but it’s too little too late for the lads in Cadbury gold. One final Aussie attacking raid from a penalty and lineout on the Scots quarter sees the gold lads pounding the Scots line, but true to the day, a wee knock on saw the Scots hold fast on their tryline and the Wobbs come away with nowt.
And so the final whistle sees the score end at 27-13 to the Scots and the whisper of an Aussie Grand Slam goes up in smoke.
Final score: Scotland 27 (Tries: Tuipulotu, van der Merwe, Bayless, Russell; Cons: Russell 2/4; Pens: Russell 1/2) defeated Wallabies 13 (Tries: Potter; Cons: Donaldson 1/1; Pens: Lolesio 2/2)
Nutta’s Man of the Match: The pundits gave the gong to Scotland’s Blair Kinghorn at fullback. And to be fair, he had an almost flawless game. But for mine, it has to go to WFR for a superlative captain’s knock. It was the surety of play, the composure, the sneaking of an extra 5m from every penalty mark, the perfect moments to get under the skin, it was the trademarks of a truly international flyhalf that showed the chasm between him and ours. He’s a guy I would luv to hate, but I enjoy his tradecraft too much.
Nutta’s Moment of the Match: Our forwards played well. They got shoulders through the contact, rucked well, were strong at the scrum and tackle. But our backs had brain explosions all day. If it wasn’t Tom Wright giving away discipline penalties it was Kellaway missing a tackle or something similarly juvenile. This was typified by when Tate McDermott, at the crucial moment when a break-back try would have changed the momentum of the whole match, put in a totally unnecessary cross-field kick, looking for a miracle ball try, when all that was needed was simple hands to the left and recycle to score.
Closing thoughts: Congratulations to Scotland. They were well led on and off field, smart in their options, and they get every ounce of value out of every player they have. They made their tackles, took their chances, played smart ‘chess’ around the field and came away with four tries to one and so well-earned bikkies.
For the Wobbs, it was a day of missed opportunities and schoolboy errors. Bobbled balls, missed tackles, injudicious kicks, loose lineouts and just poor little moment decisions when it counted (like pushing to lineouts instead of penalty goals, again!) were just too much to give up and still hope to jag a win. With over 30 missed tackles and way too many penalties given away – including a return of the Tom Wright special – it was big moment composure that let the Wobbs down today. That’s test match rugby and today the Scots played it while we didn’t.
That said, there are positives. The line between 50/50’s working or not was wafer thin today. The scrum did well. Our big men played well. The phase play was sound, and we made good ground on the few times we established rhythm. The depth development is starting to show, the side is growing in confidence and are clearly willing to play. And hey, who would have thought we would be 2 from 3 leading into the last test of the tour? But when it’s all said and done, this game was eminently winnable for the Wobbs, and they didn’t get the job done because the little things that simply must work, like all the little things to get a lineout right, mis-fired when it mattered.
Frankly, pre-tour, this was the game I wanted us to pinch. I thought we’d likely lead the English only to lose at the death, to then have a good recovery win over the Welsh and thus come north of the Wall (Hadrian’s) to get the tour back on track with a gutsy scrap of a win over the gallant Scots. That would’ve made me smile back in September. But, with wins over the English and the Welsh, expectations then lifted to add the Hopetoun Cup to the poolroom mantle alongside the Cook Cup and Jimmy Bevan trophy, and then to shape up on the Irish for a tilt at the Grand Slam as did those legends of Aussie Rugby in 1984. Alas it’s not to be. But it’s not to be because of things within our control – not taking 3ptrs, not nailing lineouts, not making the right decision when it counts. It was immaturity that cost us. And that is both heartening, because we all grow up, but likewise deeply frustrating because the opportunity to win was certainly there..
Now? To quote my old dad: “What’s done is done, boy, and cannot be undone. All we can change now is what happens next.” And so it’s on to the Irish next week. And although the injury list is mounting, certainly at 2 wins from 3 starts and now with the unlikely pressure of the Grand Slam off our back, we can approach this match with no weight of any expectation and a clear sense of optimism.
Let us know your thoughts below. I’m going back to bed.
