The Wallabies are still waiting for their first Home Nations grand slam since 1984 after they were outplayed by an outstanding Scotland side, going down 27-13 at Murrayfield.
It was a tight and fraught opening period, with the hosts going 7-3 in front at the interval through Sione Tuipulotu’s try.
Noah Lolesio provided Australia’s response before the break and then added another three-pointer in the second period, but the Scots then hit their straps to take the game away from the tourists.
They touched down three more times via Duhan van der Merwe, Josh Bayliss and Finn Russell to end their Autumn Nations Series campaign with a fine victory.
The Wallabies, meanwhile, did get a consolation score through Harry Potter but it was a disappointing afternoon for Joe Schmidt’s outfit, who fell in the third match of their grand slam quest.
Plenty was riding on this contest, which was evident in the ferocity of the collisions and the fractious nature of the match.
It led to an intense and enthralling encounter, even if the mistakes meant that the sides struggled to truly find their rhythm with ball in hand.
The Wallabies were full of confidence following their victories in London and Cardiff. In those matches, they scored 42 and 52 points respectively, but they found the Scottish defence much more difficult to breach on Sunday.
Although the tempo was there and the carries often forced the hosts’ rearguard back, Gregor Townsend’s men adjusted well and defended superbly inside their own 22.
Lolesio did reward the early Australian pressure with a penalty, but they struggled to turn their good work into tries.
In contrast, Scotland were more clinical. They weren’t averse to the odd error when in good attacking positions, but the home side at least managed to turn some of their chances into points.
They had gone through the first quarter scoreless but rectified that in the 23rd minute when Tuipulotu charged onto Ewan Ashman’s lineout throw to touch down.
Joe Schmidt would not have been happy with the Wallabies defence, but the Scottish captain was too powerful in contact for Andrew Kellaway and Len Ikitau.
After Russell added the conversion, that 7-3 scoreline remained until the start of the second period when the hosts’ fly-half extended their buffer.
Lolesio responded almost immediately but Scotland were beginning to take control thanks to the Australians’ discipline and the kicking accuracy of their opponents’ half-backs.
Townsend’s side duly put pressure on the Aussies’ tryline and it eventually resulted in Van der Merwe powering over to once again move ahead of Darcy Graham in the try-scoring pecking order.
Graham would still be an influential part of the win, however, as his searing break was finished off by Bayliss.
Scotland were now rampant and a fourth try was soon forthcoming as Huw Jones combined with Blair Kinghorn to send Russell across the whitewash.
That sealed the win and ended Australia’s hopes, despite Potter getting a score back for the visitors late on.
Scotland: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (c), 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Dylan Richardson, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Alex Craig, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 George Horne, 22 Tom Jordan, 23 Kyle Rowe
Australia: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Harry Potter, 10 Noah Lolesio, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson (c), 7 Carlo Tizzano, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Jeremy Williams, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Matt Faessler, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 Isaac Kailea, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Max Jorgensen
Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland), Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
