'A tight contest... it's a one-score game'

Scotland got their Autumn Nations Series campaign off to the perfect start on Saturday with a ten-try victory over Tonga, but greater challenges lie ahead with world number threes Australia visiting Edinburgh this weekend.

The Wallabies are on a five match winning streak, which includes two victories over the world champions South Africa, and arrive in the United Kingdom in high spirits despite some of their star players pulling out of the tour.

When, where and how to watch the match
The match will kick-off at 14:15 (GMT) on Sunday November 7th at BT Murrayfield and will be broadcast live on Amazon Prime.

Michael Cheika on his Love of Rugby

Michael Cheika on his Love of Rugby

Head-to-head
Since Gregor Townsend took charge of Scotland in 2017, he has faced Australia twice, winning both times, including a win in Sydney. Overall, the Wallabies have won 21 of their encounters though, while Scotland have won 11.

Match odds from bet365
bet365 have the Wallabies as the 8/13 favourites to win this match, and have the handicap on Scotland at +3. There are also 5/1 odds that Scotland win the match with a margin between 1-5 points and 15/4 odds that the Wallabies win by the same margin.

Use bonus code RUGBYPASS and Get Up to £100 in Bet Credits*

New customers only. Min deposit £5. Bet Credits available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. 18+ Only BeGambleAware.org

Prediction
Speaking on the BBC Radio Scotland Rugby Podcast after the win over Tonga, former Scotland scrum-half Rory Lawson emphasised how close the clash with Australia will be, expecting it to be a one-score game.

“We would probably be getting ahead of ourselves if we thought the game next Sunday is going to be anything but a tight contest, whereby it’s a one-score game,” the 31-cap Scot said.

Journalist Tom English also stressed on the podcast that there are plenty of lessons for Scotland to learn from their victory over a depleted Tonga side. He said: “There’s enough problems in there for Scotland defensively for them to walk away from this not with their head in the clouds. They’ll know they’ve got plenty to do ahead of Australia, which will be a proper game.”

*Odds accurate as of 1/11/21.