WALLABIES HOLD ON FOR GRITTY WIN AGAINST SCOTLAND
The Wallabies have shown incredible fight to deliver a 16-15 win over Scotland, overcoming a 15-6 deficit with 25 minutes left to play.
It was a tight affair at BT Murrayfield in Edinburgh, with point-scoring at a premium, and the teams separated by just one point at both the half-time and full-time whistles.
Ollie Smith got Scotland off to the perfect start before a pair of Bernard Foley penalties put the Wallabies in front at the break 6-5.
This was short-lived as Kinghorn won the race to a loose ball after half-time to put Scotland in front 15-6.
Glen Young’s yellow card brought Dave Rennie’s men back into the contest as James Slipper dived over, with the boot of Foley proving the difference-maker with a 70th-minute penalty.
Blair Kinghorn had a 79th-minute penalty to win the game for the hosts, pushing it to the left as the visitors started their Spring Tour on a positive note.
“We’re happy to hang on,” Wallabies coach Dave Rennie said after the match.
“I’m proud of the effort because at 15-6 we’d given up a soft try straight after half-time, but we fought our way back in and put our nose in front.
“We can be a lot better. We had a lot of possession inside their 22, we didn’t convert and we knew Scotland were very good post-tackle and got their hand on the ball so we know we have to better against France.
“There’s been a hell of a lot of hard work from people so it’s pleasing to get a result.”
The Wallabies started strong as Tate McDermott relished his first start of 2022, instantly breaking through the line.
Whilst the visitors had the early chances, it was Scotland that opened the scoring as Ollie Smith sliced through to dive over the line.
Bernard Foley reduced the margin via a penalty goal as both teams traded attacking opportunities.
The Wallabies went close before the ball spurted out whilst great work from Rob Valetini held up lock Glen Young over the line after the hosts turned down multiple penalty shot opportunities.
Foley’s second penalty of the night got Dave Rennie’s men in front 6-5 at the break.
Scotland caught the Wallabies off-guard as play resumed for the second half, with flyhalf Blair Kinghorn grubbering a loose ball through and winning the race to the putdown.
Some great maul defence from the visitors kept them in the contest before Kinghorn extend the lead via the boot.
As the hosts built pressure, the Wallabies were given a golden opportunity when Glen Young’s cleanout collected Tate McDermott in the head, and earned a yellow card.
This allowed captain James Slipper to strike, finishing off some great interchange between the forwards and backs.
With the game in the balance, the Wallabies earned a penalty with ten to go, with Foley continuing his perfect night to put the visitors in front.
After a strong injection, Taniela Tupou provided Scotland with one last chance to win the game after a breakdown infringement.
Up stepped Kinghorn, who pushed the penalty to the left to stun a packed Murrayfield crowd as the siren sounded.
Needing to close out the game, Nic White’s experience shone through as he delivered a bullet restart to find the touchline on the bounce, getting the Wallabies home.
2022 Spring Tour Fixtures
Wallabies 16 (Slipper try; Foley conversion; Foley 3 pen goals) defeated Scotland 15 (Smith, Kinghorn tries; Kinghorn conversion; Kinghorn pen goal)
Wallabies v France, Sunday 6 November, 7:00am AEDT at Stade de France, Paris
Wallabies v Italy, Sunday 13 November, 12:00am AEDT at Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence
Wallabies v Ireland, Sunday 20 November, 7:00am AEDT at Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Wallabies v Wales, Sunday 27 November, 2:15am AEDT at Principality Stadium, Cardiff
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