Laidlaw kicks Scotland to victory over Australia

Scotland’s Greg Laidlaw kicked an extra time penalty to earn his country a famous 6-9 victory over Australia’s Wallabies at Hunter Stadium, Newcastle Australia on Tuesday.

Australia have now not beaten Scotland since 2008 as the Scots won the last match 9-8 in Edinburgh in 2009.

No tries were scored in the match and both teams had to rely on their kickers with Scotland leading at half time.

Australia drew level in the second half but never managed to lead at any point.

As Australia had to chase the game they called on Mike Harris to kick for posts more often and due to the conditions the normally reliable Queenslander kicker missed three shots.

The match was played in awful conditions which prevented the match from flowing but despite the conditions 20,088 packed into the stadium.

For the No. 2-ranked Wallabies, it was a woeful start to back-to-back international seasons after stunning upset loss to Samoa to kick off the 2011 season.

That loss and now two in two tests against Scotland rank among the worst in Robbie Deans’ tenure as Australia coach. 

The Scots edged Australia with a late dropped goal at Murrayfield in 2009 and played with the same kind of determination and intensity in miserable conditions at Newcastle.

“The boys are over the moon. The conditions … weren’t for running rugby, but boys dug in well in defense,” Scotland captain Ross Ford said.

“We put ourselves under a lot of pressure, but when we finally got the ball, we made the most of it.

“It’s phenomenal. It’s a great morale booster for the squad.”

The injury-ravaged Australians will have to regroup quickly to have any chance of beating 6 Nations Grand Slam winners Wales in Brisbane on Saturday night.

There will be changes to the Wallabies squad, but many of the key players will be backing up four days after the humbling defeat.

Laidlaw kicked two first-half goals with a strong breeze at his back to give the Scots a 6-0 lead but Mike Harris leveled the score with penalties on either side of halftime.

Harris missed two long-range shots at goal, Berrick Barnes missed an attempted dropped goal and replacement lock Rob Simmons was held up over the line as Australia dominated possession in the second half.

But the turning point came when Harris kicked the ball dead from more than 60 meters out late in the match, allowing the Scots into the attacking quarter for a rare opportunity in the second half.

The Scottish pack shoved the Australian scrum off the ball and drew a penalty after the fulltime siren, which Laidlaw landed the kick to spark celebrations.

“Obviously, it’s a tough one to swallow,” Deans said. 

“You’ve got to give credit to Scotland. They had one possession in our 22 in the second half and they turned it into points.

“We could have, and should have, put the game beyond doubt, but didn’t, and left the door ajar. ” 

Final Score Australia 6 (3) Scotland 9 (6)

Australia
Tries –
Pen – M Harris 2
Con –
Drop –
Cards –

Scotland
Tries –
Pen – G Laidlaw 3
Con –
Drop –
Cards –

Match Officials
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Craig Joubert (South Africa), Keith Brown (New Zealand)
Television match official: Vinny Munro (New Zealand)

Teams

Australia

Luke Morahan, Digby Ioane, Anthony Faingaa, Mike Harris, Joseph Tomane, Berrick Barnes, Will Genia, Scott Higginbotham, David Pocock (c), Dave Dennis, Nathan Sharpe, Sitaleki Timani, Dan Palmer, Stephen Moore, James Slipper

Replacements :Saia Fainga’a , Ben Alexander, Rob Simmons, Michael Hooper, Nick Phipps, Pat McCa