Scotland v Australia Stats: One Line Break To Ten, And A Scotland Win

Scotland beat Australia 15-12 at Scottish Gas Murrayfield on Sunday with one line break. Australia made ten. Those two numbers, from the official post-match stats, sum up an afternoon the BBC’s commentators called “a dogfight”.

Scotland won the ball back nine times to Australia’s six and conceded one fewer penalty. Australia gained more ground, 352 metres to 297 from 17 fewer carries, but did not score again after the 11th minute until the 79th. Every number from the match is below, team and player.

The numbers that decided it

1 v 10 line breaks. Tom Jordan made Scotland’s only clean break. Max Jorgensen made three of Australia’s ten on his own, and eight different Wallabies broke the line at least once. Scotland’s defence kept getting back into shape behind the break.

195 tackles to 152. Australia had to tackle 43 more times than Scotland. Fraser McReight made 31, the most in the match by ten, and Harry Wilson made 21. For Scotland, Matt Fagerson made 17, Ewan Ashman 16 and Rory Darge 15.

9 turnovers won to 6. Tom Jordan won three, Darge two. Darge’s steal at the end of an 18-phase Australian attack midway through the second half was the moment Scotland’s defence won the game. Darge was named player of the match.

2.0 v 2.7 metres per carry. Scotland carried 147 times to Australia’s 130 but went forward less with each one. Jack Dempsey carried 17 times, the most in the match, for 28 metres. Blair Kinghorn made 73 metres, the most for Scotland, and beat five defenders. Jorgensen made 93 metres, more than anyone.

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8 penalties to 9, and one yellow card. Zander Fagerson gave away three of Scotland’s eight. Jeremy Williams gave away three of Australia’s nine. Billy Pollard’s yellow card on 45 minutes, for head-on-head contact with Kinghorn, was the only card. Scotland did not score while he was off.

Set piece: even. Both scrums won all their own ball. Scotland won 92.9% of their lineouts, Australia 94.7%. Gregor Brown won eight lineouts, the most in the match. Jeremy Williams won six for Australia.

Kicking. Scotland kicked 29 times from hand, Australia 26. Ryan Lonergan kicked 14 times on his own, more than anyone. Ben White and Jamie Dobie kicked 17 times between them for Scotland.

Scoring timeline

Scotland v Australia: full team stats

Scotland player stats

Australia player stats

Replacements and timings

Our view

These numbers usually mean the side with ten line breaks wins. Australia made the breaks and did not finish them. Scotland won with defence and breakdown work, and kept their discipline when Australia had the ball inside their 22. Gregor Townsend will want more than one line break from his backs before finals weekend. Les Kiss has a bigger problem: his side made the chances and still lost.

READ MORE: Scotland Player Ratings vs Australia: Immense Darge Leads 15-12 Win

READ MORE: Wallabies Player Ratings vs Scotland: McReight’s 31 Tackles Not Enough

Source: official Nations Championship post-match statistics (media.sixnationsrugby.com). Turnovers won and lineouts won per player are as listed in the official report.