Scotland vs Australia finished 15–12 at Scottish Gas Murrayfield on Sunday 15 November in Round 5 of the Nations Championship, in front of 65,095. Matt Fagerson and Jack Dempsey scored Scotland’s tries, and Finn Russell kicked a conversion and a 74th-minute penalty. Harry Potter and Max Jorgensen scored for Australia.
Scotland lost captain Sione Tuipulotu to a knee injury before kick-off. Tom Jordan started at 12, Stafford McDowall joined the bench and Rory Darge led the side. James Doleman (New Zealand) refereed.
Australia made 352 metres to Scotland’s 297 from fewer carries. The TMO also took a try off each side before half-time. So how did Scotland win?
Fagerson And Potter Trade Early Tries
It was wet in Edinburgh, and Scotland scored first. After phase after phase on the Australia line, scrum-half Ben White looked up and threw wide to Fagerson, a flanker standing on his own in the right corner, in the eighth minute. Russell’s conversion hit the post.
Australia hit back three minutes later on the left. Potter got outside his man and through the cover to ground it in the corner. Lonergan’s conversion drifted wide right.
Two Tries Ruled Out By The TMO
Scotland thought they had the lead in the 24th minute. Russell kicked a cross-field grubber, wing Kyle Steyn kicked it on and Darcy Graham touched down. The TMO found Steyn’s foot was in touch before he played the ball, and the score stayed 5–5. Lock Scott Cummings limped off a minute later, and Max Williamson replaced him.
Dempsey, the former Wallaby, put Scotland back in front against his old side in the 27th minute. Scotland went through the forwards, and Dempsey needed two goes at the line to get the ball down. Russell converted for 12–5.
Australia’s scrum started winning penalties around the half-hour, according to rugby.com.au. Hooker Billy Pollard finished a lineout maul in the 35th minute, but the TMO ruled the try out for obstruction by lock Jeremy Williams. Steyn went off for a head injury assessment a minute later and came back for the second half after passing it.
Pollard’s Yellow And A 46-Minute Stalemate
Pollard was sent to the sin-bin in the 45th minute for a head-on-head collision with full-back Blair Kinghorn. The TMO looked at it for red, and it stayed yellow. Pollard did not come back: Tom Hooper replaced him when the ten minutes were up.
Scotland had ten minutes against 14 and came away with nothing. With the ball wet, they kicked it high and chased instead of running it from deep, and rugby.com.au described Australia losing high ball after high ball in the second half. Australia’s longest attack came around the 66th minute, more than 15 phases, and it ended with a Wallaby penalised for holding on.
Back-row forward Ollie Leatherbarrow came on for Fagerson in the 70th minute to win his first cap, Scotland’s number 1241.
The scoreboard sat at 12–5 for 46 minutes. In the 74th minute Australia were penalised at the breakdown inside their own 22, and Russell kicked it from 22 metres: 15–5, two scores clear.
Jorgensen’s Late Try And The Last Play
Australia scored at the death, again down the short side. Lock Williams got the last pass away to Jorgensen, who dived in at the corner in the 79th minute, and replacement fly-half Ben Donaldson converted for 15–12. That was the losing bonus point. There was time for one more attack.
Centre Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii broke from his own line, but a tackle by Graham stopped Australia’s last attack, and Scotland put the ball out to end the game. Graham had been denied a try by his team-mate’s foot nearly an hour earlier.
How Scotland Won With One Line Break
Scotland had the ball for 56% of the game and carried it 147 times. It got them 297 metres, 2.0 a carry, and one line break, by Tom Jordan. Australia averaged 2.7 metres a carry and broke the line ten times. Jorgensen made three of those breaks and 93 metres, the most on the pitch.
Ten breaks brought two tries. Scotland made 152 tackles and missed 11, a 93% success rate, and they won the ball back 9 times to Australia’s 6. Jordan (three) and Darge (two) won five of those. Australia turned it over 14 times.
The rest was the boot and the lineout. Scotland kicked 29 times from hand and Australia 26. Lock Gregor Brown won 8 lineouts, the most in the match.
Fraser McReight‘s 31 tackles were the most by anyone, ten more than his captain Harry Wilson’s 21. Matt Fagerson led Scotland with 17.
Our view: Australia had the better scrum, the line breaks and the better last ten minutes, and they still lost because they could not finish what they broke open, or catch a kick in the wet. Scotland scored two tries in the first 27 minutes and none after that. A second half like that would not have beaten England, Ireland or France. Was that a good Scotland win, or a poor Australia defeat?
Scotland vs Australia Match Stats
| Stat | Scotland | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 56.2% | 43.8% |
| Tries | 2 | 2 |
| Metres made | 297 | 352 |
| Carries | 147 | 130 |
| Metres per carry | 2.0 | 2.7 |
| Passes | 134 | 148 |
| Kicks from hand | 29 | 26 |
| Line breaks | 1 | 10 |
| Offloads | 7 | 8 |
| Defenders beaten | 16 | 11 |
| Tackles | 152 | 195 |
| Missed tackles | 11 | 16 |
| Turnovers won | 9 | 6 |
| Turnovers conceded | 11 | 14 |
| Penalties conceded | 8 | 9 |
| Lineout success | 92.9% | 94.7% |
| Scrum success | 100% | 100% |
| Cards | None | Yellow: Pollard (45) |
All numbers are from the official Six Nations Rugby post-match report. Every player’s numbers are in our Scotland v Australia stats breakdown.
Standout Numbers
| Category | Scotland | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Most tackles | Matt Fagerson, 17 | Fraser McReight, 31 |
| Most metres | Blair Kinghorn, 73 | Max Jorgensen, 93 |
| Most carries | Jack Dempsey, 17 | Angus Bell, 13 |
| Most turnovers won | Tom Jordan, 3 | Fraser McReight and Ryan Lonergan, 2 |
| Most lineouts won | Gregor Brown, 8 | Jeremy Williams, 6 |
| Most defenders beaten | Blair Kinghorn, 5 | Three players, 2 each |
Scoring Timeline
| Min | Event | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Try: Matt Fagerson (SCO), con hits the post (Finn Russell) | 5–0 |
| 11 | Try: Harry Potter (AUS), con missed (Ryan Lonergan) | 5–5 |
| 24 | Darcy Graham try ruled out by the TMO (Kyle Steyn in touch) | 5–5 |
| 27 | Try: Jack Dempsey (SCO), Con: Russell | 12–5 |
| 35 | Billy Pollard try ruled out by the TMO (obstruction) | 12–5 |
| HT | Half-time | 12–5 |
| 45 | Yellow card: Billy Pollard (AUS) | 12–5 |
| 74 | Pen: Russell (SCO) | 15–5 |
| 79 | Try: Max Jorgensen (AUS), Con: Ben Donaldson | 15–12 |
Minutes are as printed in the official post-match report. The two disallowed tries are timed from the live blogs.
Kicks At Goal
| Goal kicking | Scotland | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Conversions | Russell 1 from 2 | Lonergan 0 from 1, Donaldson 1 from 1 |
| Penalties | Russell 1 from 1 | None attempted |
| Drop goals | None attempted | Lonergan 0 from 1 |
TMO Calls And Cards
| Min | Decision |
|---|---|
| 24 | Graham try disallowed: Steyn’s foot was in touch when he kicked Russell’s grubber on |
| 35 | Pollard try disallowed: the TMO found lock Jeremy Williams had obstructed Scotland’s defenders at the maul |
| 45 | Pollard yellow card for head-on-head contact with Blair Kinghorn; the TMO checked it for red |
What It Means For The Nations Championship Table
Scotland scored two tries, so there is no try bonus point. The win takes them from 11 to 15 points from five games, level with Wales. Our calculation puts Scotland fourth in the Northern Hemisphere table on points difference (-8 to Wales’ -28), as both sides have three wins. France lead on 21, with England and Ireland on 20.
Australia’s losing bonus point takes them to 9 points, still fourth in the Southern Hemisphere table, two behind Argentina. Every Round 6 fixture is on our Nations Championship hub.
What Happens Next?
Scotland host Japan at Murrayfield on Saturday 21 November (2.10pm GMT) in Round 6. Australia play Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff that evening (8.10pm GMT). Pool position after Round 6 decides the placing matches at Twickenham from 27 to 29 November.
Wales beat New Zealand 35–28 in Cardiff on Saturday. Our Wales v New Zealand match report has the full numbers.
The Teams
Scotland: Blair Kinghorn; Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones, Tom Jordan, Darcy Graham; Finn Russell, Ben White; Rory Sutherland, Ewan Ashman, Zander Fagerson, Gregor Brown, Scott Cummings, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge (capt), Jack Dempsey. Replacements: Gregor Hiddleston, Pierre Schoeman, Will Hurd, Max Williamson, Josh Bayliss, Ollie Leatherbarrow, Jamie Dobie, Stafford McDowall.
Australia: Tom Wright; Max Jorgensen, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Harry Potter; Carter Gordon, Ryan Lonergan; Angus Bell, Billy Pollard, Allan Alaalatoa, Josh Canham, Jeremy Williams, Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson (capt). Replacements: Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Isaac Kailea, Taniela Tupou, Lachlan Shaw, Tom Hooper, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson, Filipo Daugunu.
Referee: James Doleman (New Zealand). TMO: Andrew Jackson (England). Attendance: 65,095.
More from Murrayfield: Wallabies player ratings vs Scotland · Scotland v Australia player stats · Les Kiss on Finn Russell before the Test
FAQ
What was the score in Scotland v Australia?
Scotland won 15–12 at Scottish Gas Murrayfield on 15 November 2026. They led 12–5 at half-time. Matt Fagerson and Jack Dempsey scored Scotland’s tries, and Harry Potter and Max Jorgensen scored for Australia.
How many line breaks did Australia make against Scotland?
Ten, to Scotland’s one, according to the official Six Nations Rugby post-match report. Australia also made more metres, 352 to 297, but scored two tries.
Who made the most tackles in Scotland v Australia?
Fraser McReight, with 31. Matt Fagerson made the most for Scotland, 17.
Did Australia get a bonus point against Scotland?
Yes. They lost by three points, inside the seven-point margin for a losing bonus point, so they move to nine points in the Southern Hemisphere table.
Sources: Six Nations Rugby official post-match report (all stats, scoring times, replacements, referee, attendance); Scottish Rugby live blog (team news, TMO decisions, Leatherbarrow’s cap number); rugby.com.au live blog and match report (try build-ups, scrum and high-ball passages, last play, match officials). Table positions are our calculation from the published standings before the match.
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