Wallabies head coach Les Kiss has called the 15–12 defeat by Scotland at Murrayfield “a loss we’ve got to take on the chin”, Australia’s fourth in a row.
Kiss spoke to ITV, as quoted by BBC Sport, and to Stan Sport, as reported by ABC News, after the Nations Championship Test in Edinburgh on Sunday afternoon (early Monday AEDT).
It was the Wallabies’ eighth straight defeat on European tours going back two years, AAP reported, and came a week after a 45–22 loss to England at Twickenham.
READ MORE: Wallabies player ratings vs Scotland: McReight’s 31 tackles not enough
‘A turgid match’
“I just spoke to Gregor Townsend, I think he and I both would have preferred some drier weather, but it’s a loss we’ve got to take on the chin and we’ve got to step up next week against Wales,” Kiss told ITV.
“It’s difficult when you give easy metres. Our discipline… Once or twice we gave them 100 yards. It was a turgid match but I was happy with a number of things – Carter Gordon and Ryan Lonergan clicked well together, the scrum was strong.”
He struck a similar note with Stan Sport: “Our defence definitely turned up.
“Our physicality overall was right up, which was pleasing.
“A couple of moments, that try in the corner with the maul, probably a couple of discipline moments that gave them easy yards just put us on the back foot.
“Full of fight, that’s for sure. But you want to win those ones.”
Australia made 10 line breaks to Scotland’s one and 195 tackles to Scotland’s 152, according to the official match data, with Fraser McReight making 31. They still scored nothing between Harry Potter’s 11th-minute try and Max Jorgensen’s in the 79th.
READ MORE: Scotland vs Australia match report | Nations Championship table after Round 5
‘A really big moment’
Captain Harry Wilson pointed to the try Australia did not get. Billy Pollard was driven over from a maul before half-time, but the TMO ruled it out for obstruction by Jeremy Williams.
Asked whether the performance was better than against England, Wilson said, as reported by ABC News: “It was a lot better. The boys fronted up.
“It was an arm-wrestle. Whoever blinked first… that try before half time, it was a tough one. They’re really trying to crack down on that at the moment and that was probably a really big moment in the end, because 14-all at half time we might have had them there.
“We’ve got to be better at icing those big moments.
“I’m really proud of the group’s fight right to the end, even with a minute left on the clock we didn’t give up and we nearly got there.”
Scotland led 12–5 at the time, so a converted Pollard try would have made it 12–12 at the break. Pollard was later sin-binned for a head-on-head collision with Blair Kinghorn and did not return.
Finn Russell’s penalty in the 74th minute put Scotland 10 clear. Jorgensen’s converted try earned a losing bonus point, but Australia’s last attack from the restart was stopped by Darcy Graham.
Wales next
Australia play Wales, who beat New Zealand 35–28 on Saturday, at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday 21 November (Sunday morning AEDT).
“It’ll be a cracking match [next week], fair play to [Wales], they did something phenomenal yesterday [beating New Zealand]. Steve Tandy and his crew should be very proud of that,” Kiss said.
“We’ve got to review this hard,” Wilson added. “I think it was a step forward but it wasn’t a win.
“We want to win.
“We saw Wales beat New Zealand at the weekend, they’re going to be full of confidence but, this group, we’re going to be up for the challenge.”
FAQ
How long is the Wallabies’ losing run?
Four Tests in a row, the last two against England (45–22) and Scotland (15–12). AAP counts eight straight defeats on European tours since late 2024.
READ MORE: Scotland v Australia stats: one line break to ten, and a Scotland win
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