Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend hailed his team’s defensive efforts after they edged past Australia in a Nations Championship “arm wrestle” at Murrayfield.
Off the back of being dismantled by New Zealand last weekend, in which they failed to score a second half point, the spotlight fell on Scotland’s leaky defence.
But on a chilly and damp Edinburgh day where physicality was king, they delivered a much-needed win and showed they are capable of winning ugly.
Even so, Townsend’s side didn’t make it easy.
Max Jorgensen’s late converted try gave the Wallabies hope, and with the clock in the red, the visitors broke from their own half.
Murrayfield held its breath, but Darcy Graham hauled Australia full-back Tom Wright into touch with a superb tackle.
“When we saw the rain half an hour before kick-off, you still hope you’ll be able to move the ball,” Townsend said.
“You could tell defences were coming off the line a bit quicker, knowing they could pressure the ball carrier.
“Both teams had to adjust and I thought we did that well. Defensively, that’s one of the best performances I’ve seen in the last couple of years. Set after set we were putting them under pressure.
“We were on that edge of physicality but disciplined, hitting hard in the tackle, putting pressure on, listening to the referee, getting back onside. That makes it hard for the opposition to get into our 22m, which was a learning from last week.
“It was just constant effort. Today, we showed we can play another game, too.”
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