Scotland 9 - 8 Australia: Awesome defence and last-second conversion miss ends 27-year wait to beat Australia

Published on Saturday 21 November 2009 19:40

AFTER eventually ending a 16-game losing streak to his great rival Jimmy Connors, tennis player Vitas Gerulaitas came out with the immortal phrase: "No one makes a fool of Vitas Gerulaitas 17 times in a row!"

&#149 Australia No.8 Wycliff Palu attempts to slowdown John Barclay as the Scotland flanker goes on the charge.

The same can now be said of Scotland who ended a 27-year, 16-match wait for a win over the Wallabies that stretches back to 1982.

What was it Ian McGeechan said about the 1997 Lions? "Fifteen-man rugby, without the ball." That described Scotland yesterday because for long stretches the home side were stuck deep inside their own half, engaged in a desperate rearguard action.

The they-shall-not-pass, stonewall resistance resembled Andy Robinson's Edinburgh at their best. Teams, and especially Scotland, don't become world class overnight but the first and easiest step to take is becoming cussed, sticky and damned difficult to beat at home and that is exactly what the men in blue were yesterday. They did very little with the ball, far too little, you could argue, to justify their win, but every player on the field defended as if their lives depended upon it.

In this they were aided by the sheer incompetence of the Wallabies, especially Matt Giteau, who managed one kick from four not counting a missed drop-goal. Defending a six-point lead for the final five minutes, the Scots were camped on their own goal line as the Wallabies went in search of what should have been the winning score. The defence was heroic, the attack desperate but eventually the Aussie centre Ryan Cross found a chink in the armour and crossed midway between the posts and the corner flag with the stadium clock showing 80 minutes. With the disapproval of the crowd ringing in his ears Giteau lined up the sort of conversion he would normally make in his sleep … and fluffed it. It earned him the biggest cheer of the day from the grateful Murrayfield crowd and an immediate, if cheeky, nomination for the man of the match award.

As a game of rugby this match didn't boast much in the way of highlights but for sheer drama it couldn't be bettered. If there was a turning point then it came ten minutes into the second half when the scores were still level at 3-3 but Scotland were on the rack and it looked only a matter of time before the defensive dam caved completely. Rocky Elsom had just had what looked like a good try wiped off by the television match official and Giteau had missed a second penalty attempt. If the Scots spent any more time in their own 22 they would surely leak points.

That was when Johnnie Beattie came up with a vital lineout steal. The ball was shovelled to Nick De Luca, a half time substitute for Graeme Morrison, and the centre chipped for the corner. Will Genia covered but was caught by the Scots a yard from his own try line and was pinged for holding on. Godman missed that penalty but he made no mistake with another attempt from the same place five minutes later when a rejuvenated Scottish pack drove a maul 20 yards upfield and lured Dean Mumm offside. The Scots had stolen the lead on 56 minutes and somehow managed to cling on for the remainder of the match.

The final quarter was not recommended viewing for anyone wearing a pacemaker. The Scots somehow increased their lead on 75 minutes on a rare sortie into Australian territory when Chris Paterson popped up with a crucial drop-goal. Knowing that they needed a try to seemed to liberate the Wallabies who went in search of the winner.

James O'Connor enjoyed a mazy run inside the Scottish 22 that was only halted too near the line for comfort. Replacement scrum-half Luke Burgess took a quick tap penalty and when the ball was shipped wide left the Wallabies had several men spare. Centre Quade Cooper took his time and picked out Drew Mitchell, and the winger stepped inside the cover defence and crossed the line, only to be called back for a forward pass.

It was not the only open goal that the Aussies butchered. At the tail end of the first half Stephen Moore picked a canny line off Giteau and crossed the Scots' line only for Chris Cusiter to somehow keep the ball off the ground. The hooker's anguished Anglo Saxon expletive directed at the black Scottish sky pretty much summed up the Aussies' afternoon. That try-saving tackle was the last thing the Scottish skipper did. Cusiter was led off the field with what looked like a concussion from a previous collision to be replaced by Rory Lawson who immediately reminded everyone that Scotland boasts three top class scrummies rather than just two. The Gloucester man was picked out for special praise by Robinson after the match, as were Alex Grove and Rory Lamont, but Johnnie Beattie was the stand-out player in blue on a day when everyone laid their bodies on the line.

The No.8 frustrates and delights in equal measure but he has long been a special project of Robinson's and already it seems to be bearing fruit. Beattie was a constant influence on this match and a vital one, popping up all over the field, doing the graft as well as the Flash Harry stuff. It was easily his best game in a Scotland shirt and he has now set his own exacting standard.

As have Scotland, who have left plenty of room for improvement. They need to see this victory as a launch pad for better things because only rarely will they win a match in which they so obviously lose the territorial and possession battles. This needs to be the start of the journey rather than the end of it, although the same thing was surely said back in 2002 when Scotland last beat one of the Southern Hemisphere giants at Murrayfield.

Scotland: R Lamont, S Lamont, A Grove, G Morrison (De Luca 40 min), S Danielli (C Paterson 63 min); P Godman, C Cusiter (Lawson 20 min); A Jacobsen, R Ford (D Hall 76 min), M Low (K Traynor 57 min), N Hines, A Kellock, A Strokosch (J White 47 min), J Barclay, J Beattie (R Vernon 63 min).

Australia: A Ashley-Cooper, P Hynes, R Cross, Q Cooper (J O'Connor 73 min), D Mitchell; M Giteau, W Genia (L Burgess 63 min); B Robinson (S Kepu 16 min), S Moore (T Polota Nau 45 min), B Alexander, J Horwill, M Chisholm (D Mumm 49 min), R Elsom, W Palu (R Brown 65 min), G Smith.

Scorers: Scotland – Pen: Godman. Drop-goal: Paterson. Australia – Try: Cross Pen: Giteau

Referee: R Poite (FFR). Attendance: 44,762.

WINS OVER WALLABIES

21 Nov 2009: Scotland 9, Australia 8

4 July 1982: Australia 7, Scotland 12

19 Dec 1981: Scotland 24, Australia 15

6 Dec 1975: Scotland 10, Australia 3

2 Nov 1968: Scotland 9, Australia 3

17 Dec 1966: Scotland 11, Australia 5

15 Feb 1958: Scotland 12, Australia 8

17 Dec 1927: Scotland 10, Australia 8

MAN BY MAN: HOW THEY RATED

15. Rory Lamont 9/10

Tackled like a demon, particularly to stop Stephen Moore on the line. Showed up well in the rare attacks, too.

14. Sean Lamont 8/10

Almost let the side down when a touch of cramp got him late on as he was going for the ball, but otherwise immense.

13. Alex Grove 9/10

Took an early thumper from Peter Hynes, but got up, dusted himself down and played like a man inspired.

12. Graeme Morrison 6/10

Lost ball early but made up for it with some tough tackling. Replaced by Nick De Luca at half-time.

11. Simon Danielli 7/10

Lots of tackling from the big wing, but had no chance to shine in attack and a stray kick could have been costly.

10. Phil Godman 8/10

Kicked to relieve pressure but too many. Did his share of the rough stuff, too.

9. Chris Cusiter 8/10

Was playing a blinder until picking up concussion in successive try-saving tackles. Did the captaincy role well.

1. Allan Jacobsen 8/10

Conceded a penalty but did well against the Aussie scrum-wheel tactic and was excellent in the loose play.

2. Ross Ford 9/10

Threw in well at the lineout and really caught the eye with a dynamic performance in the loose.

3. Moray Low 8/10

Contested the scrums well and was unfairly penalised by a referee who clearly knew little about scrummaging.

4. Nathan Hines 9/10

Among his very best performances for Scotland. Solid in the tight and combative yet disciplined in the loose. Superb.

5. Ally Kellock 9/10

Taking over as captain seemed to inspire him to new heights for Scotland. All round he was at his very best.

6. Alasdair Strokosch 7/10

Worked himself to exhaustion with a first half of ubiquity. Maybe not his best-ever showing but still did damage.

7. John Barclay 8/10

A real tiger of a flanker. His good league form all season carried on at the highest stage.

8. Johnnie Beattie 9/10

The best back row player on the field. Tackled hard and carried well. Just all round excellence.

SUBSTITUTES

16. Dougie Hall 7/10 No time to show. 17. Kyle Traynor 7/10 Under pressure in scrums. 18. Jason White 8/10 Crowd's cheer showed he is still a favourite. Tough as ever. 19. Richie Vernon 8/10 Did well in tackling duties in particular. 20. Rory Lawson 9/10 Magnificent replacement. The third choice No.9 stepped up to the plate.21. Chris Patterson 8/10 Won the match with his late drop goal. 22. Nick De Luca 8/10 Tackled and made yards.