Dave Rennie’s Wallabies travel to the home of Scottish Rugby looking to regain control in one of the game’s more under-the-radar rivalries.

Recent History 

Having not lost to Scotland for 27 years, the Wallabies have lost five of their last eight, including three on the bounce.

Scottish head coach Gregor Townsend has been involved with each one of these victories, initially as an assistant coach, before taking over the reins from Vern Cotter.

Outside of a singular Scottish 53-24 blowout victory in the 2017, there is a mere three points separating the two sides across the other seven clashes, with the Scots scoring a total of 128 points to Australia’s 125. 

Of course, not all victories are equal, as the 2015 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal will attest to. Scotland was on course for a famous victory that would see them return to the semifinal for the first time since the 1991 tournament. 

Setting the scene, Scotland scored an incredible late try through center Mark Bennett, which captain Greig Laidlaw duly converted with a mere five minutes to play.

As Scottish fans began dreaming of a very winnable semifinal matchup with Argentina, referee Craig Joubert had other ideas. 

As time was expiring, Joubert awarded Australia a penalty from a very kickable position, and Joubert would later admit that with the benefit of replay, he had gotten the call wrong.  

As the under-fire Joubert controversially sprinted from the field without even shaking hands with the players, an extra layer of venom was added to the rivalry.

Since then, Scotland has picked up a first victory on Australian soil since 1982, followed by back-to-back victories at Murrayfield. 

Team News

Despite this run of close clashes, both sides have made significant changes to their respective squads since their last clash in 2021.

Star fly-half Finn Russell once again has been omitted from the Scottish squad, with Townsend instead opting for Blair Kinghorn, Adam Hastings and Ross Thompson as the fly-half options. 

Russell’s omission has been put down to his club form with French side Racing92, but it is not the first time he has been left out by Townsend. Having previously been removed from the squad for discipline issues, while also missing the tour of Argentina in June, Russell appears very much out in the wilderness.  

Also missing from the match-day squad this weekend is former captain Stuart Hogg, who has been stripped of the leadership role. Instead, the Scottish coaches have opted for flanker Jamie Ritchie as captain for the series.

Though Townsend will preach the party line that form is the reason for the removal of Scotland’s two best attacking players, it is difficult to argue that Russell, in particular, is not Scotland’s best fly-half, let alone not even one of their three best. 

Hogg will return throughout the series, and Townsend has stated his belief that the Exeter fullback will return to his best without the burden of the captaincy.

Your Scotland Team for Saturday's clash with @wallabies has been confirmed 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

More ➡️ https://t.co/lc1kNHis4G pic.twitter.com/xivygEd0BM

— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) October 27, 2022

For the visiting Wallabies, former captain Michael Hooper returns to the starting lineup, following his shocking exit from the squad throughout The Rugby Championship.

Citing personal reasons, the longtime skipper left the squad prior to their first Rugby Championship clash with Argentina’s Los Pumas and did not return for the remainder of the tournament.

In his absence, prop James Slipper took on the leadership mantle and handled the role exceptionally. Slipper remains in charge for this clash in a move than looks to ease the burden on Hooper, who will be looking to prove he is still the best No. 7 on the squad. 

Looking back at the infamous 2015 quarterfinal, experienced fly-half Bernard Foley started in that game. Due to a severe shortage of quality options in the playmaking role, Rennie recalled the now 33-year-old for the final rounds of The Rugby Championship.

Having spent years in the international wilderness, Foley made an immediate impact upon his return to the setup. 

Outside of a moment of madness, which cost the Wallabies a famous win over the All Blacks, Foley has been a major upgrade over the quartet of Quade Cooper, Noah Lolesio and James O’Connor.

Lolesio would appear to be the future of the position for the Wallabies and is on the bench for this weekend’s game. Interestingly, he is a similar player to Foley from a playing-style perspective but just not quite as polished. 

Rennie and his coaching staff will hope that Foley will be able to mentor Lolesio, as outside of him, the fly-half shelves look rather bare less than a year out from the World Cup.

In terms of new faces, 27-year-old Jock Campbell is set to make his debut from the bench, which is just rewards for his brilliant season for the Queensland Reds.

🖤💛❤️💚💙 Your team to run out at Murrayfield.

⏰ Sunday 30 October, 3:30am AEDT
🏟 BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh
📺 @StanSportAU#Wallabies @eToroAU #SCOvAUS pic.twitter.com/MK7XdShJeq

— Wallabies (@wallabies) October 27, 2022

Prediction 

Scotland came awfully close to a series win in Argentina, which would’ve gone a long way to offsetting some of the disappointment following a poor Six Nations.

Losing by three points to an 81st-minute penalty by Emiliano Boffelli was crushing for Townsend’s side. 

Australia showed signs of improvement throughout The Rugby Championship, but it still felt very much like one step forward and two steps back for Rennie’s side.

Beating Argentina before being thumped in Round 2, they then bounced back to beat the Springboks in Round 3, before being beaten handily by the same opponents in Round 4.

Then came their series against the All Blacks, in which they had all but won the game before Foley’s time wasting led to a late All Black penalty and subsequent try. 

Continuing their trend of one week on, one week off, they then were annihilated in Auckland in the final round of the competition.

Keeping with this trend, they should be in for a big game this weekend. Of course, that is not always how these things work, as the Scots themselves will be looking to get back on track.

Not going in the visitor’s favor is the weather conditions, with heavy rain forecast for kickoff time. 

In the tight exchanges, the Scottish pack should have the advantage with Ritchie, Hamish Watson and Matt Fagerson all being lethal at the breakdown.

This fixture should remain true to the general trend of results between these two teams, meaning it will be another relatively tight affair. Scotland by six points.

Written by Philip Bendon