Hope then despair: Twitter reacts to Scotland’s 1 point loss to Australia

Scottish rugby fans had dared to dream but in the end defeat came in one of the cruellest fashions imaginable.

A controversial penalty in the dying minutes allowed Australia to win the Twickenham quarter-final 35-34 and the Scots, as the last northern Hemisphere country in the competition, were jettisoned through the World Cup trapdoor like the rest of their European cousins.

Scotland’s sporting history is littered with heroic failure but this added a new chapter and was particularly gut-wrenching.

@TomEnglishSport summed up the mood as the game entered the dying moments with Scotland holding onto a slender lead when he tweeted: “Four minutes from immortality”.

However in a flash, Scotland’s hopes of a major upset where dashed with Bernard Foley’s last dash penalty.

@MosleyAndrew tweeted: “Scotland threw that away through poor work in their own 22 throughout the second half. Brilliant otherwise.”