Autumn games don’t normally have the import of championship rugby, but this one feels a little different, for both nations.
For Gregor Townsend it’s a chance to finish off the year with a big scalp, a victory that would propel them into next year, where they have faltering Italy and refreshening Ireland at home in the first two weekends of the Six Nations.
Lose, though, and it’s navel gazing time again.
Townsend wasn’t hiding from that on Friday. “It must be one of the most experienced teams we’ve selected in the last eight to 10 years,” he said. “That should count for something.”
That’s as close to ‘no excuses’ as you’re going to get with Townsend, which is bold given the way of things between these two countries over the last decade or so.
Scotland have won three of the last five, it’s true, but eight of the last nine have been settled by six points or fewer, including four that have been won by a single point.
Scotland are a settled team with 640 caps in their starting line-up. The Wallabies have 406.
Scotland have familiarity in all combinations on the pitch. Australia, meanwhile, have a midfield partnership that has started one game together, a pair of locks who have never played together for their country, and a debutant on the wing.
There has been an understandable love bombing of the Wallabies on this tour, particularly around Joseph Suaalii, the fantastically-talented centre plucked from rugby league, and Tom Wright, currently one of the most dangerous attacking full-backs in the global game.
They’re still in the early stages of Schmidt’s coaching, though. They score a lot, but they also concede a lot. Their virtues are blindingly obvious, but it’s weakness that Townsend is looking for.
Suaalii is an attacking wonder, but no kid with only 100 minutes of Test rugby is the finished article. Playing 13 demands tremendous nous in defence and Suaalii can’t have it after a game and a bit.
Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones will surely want to test the young man’s grasp of defence in the rarefied air of international rugby.
Scotland’s team was largely predictable, with Jamie Ritchie getting the nod in the one contentious area in the back row.
The former captain is at a major point in his Test life. Still only 28, Ritchie has been in and out for the big games of 2024.
He started at seven against Wales in the Six Nations; wasn’t in the 23 for France; started at six against England; was on the bench against Italy; wasn’t in the squad against Ireland; was on the bench against the Boks this month and now starts at six again.
This needs to be a big day for Ritchie, in the air and on the floor, where he excels.
It needs to be a big day for all the Scotland players. They are a collection of excellent individuals who are forever toiling to find the consistency of potential champions. Jones called it. Time to step up and deliver.
