A try from 21-year-old debutant Ewan Ashman set Scotland up for a hard-fought 15-13 win over Australia at BT Murrayfield.
A week on from their ten-try win over Tonga, Scotland were in much more of a battle against a Wallaby team who had won five straight before this match.
But hooker Ashman’s second-half score proved crucial as Scotland edged home, with Hamish Watson having gone over in the first half.
Rob Leota’s try while Australia were down to 14 had given them the lead after the break but it was not enough to keep their winning streak going.
Both teams showed ambition early, playing at an incredibly high tempo with Australia’s first opportunity coming when Len Ikitau charged down Finn Russell but then tried a speculative offload that Matt Fagerson was able to claim.
Russell’s kicking was a big part of the game early on, and he came desperately close to a 50:22 shortly afterwards, only for Andrew Kellaway to get back and also avoid going into touch himself.
The Wallabies had the first chance to score, James O’Connor shanking an effort at goal after Sam Skinner had been penalised at a ruck.
Scotland lost George Turner to injury after 11 minutes, giving Ashman an earlier debut than anticipated.
Hunter Paisami came close to the first try with a powerful carry off the back of a five-metre scrum but was penalised for an extra roll as Watson went for the turnover.
And soon after Watson had the first try of the game, finishing off a brilliant lineout move. The ball was thrown to the back of the line but quickly passed down to Grant Gilchrist and with the Australian pack out of position, the Scottish pod shot forward and Watson went over. Russell converted to make it 7-0.
Australia responded and Tom Wright went over in the right corner but the try was ruled out for a clearout beyond the ruck by Hunter Paisami. And four minutes from time, the Wallabies had another score chalked off, skipper Michael Hooper this time for Allan Alaalatoa’s swinging arm that earned him a trip to the sin-bin.
They did finish the half the stronger though and got on the scoreboard just before half-time with a penalty from O’Connor.
Despite being a man down, Australia started the second half on the front foot, with Leota powering over after a devastating burst from Izaia Perese.
Curiously, as soon as Australia were back up to a full complement, it was Scotland who seized the momentum.
Australia had lost Taniela Tupou to a head injury just before they scored and before the hour, Alaalatoa suffered a similar fate meaning that James Slipper was forced to take over at tighthead prop while he went for a HIA.
Scotland took full advantage as they got the upper hand in the scrum, and after a couple of penalties in the set-piece they took the lead in dramatic fashion. Following a scrum, the Scots went through a couple of phases going right before shifting back left where Ashman finished acrobatically in the corner despite Perese’s best efforts.
Russell missed the conversion but Scotland led 12-10 heading into the final quarter.
But the lead was short-lived, O’Connor knocking over a penalty after Jamie Ritchie was penalised at a breakdown.
Scotland could still rely on the scrum though and Russell gratefully accepted another three-pointer with ten minutes to go.
Both teams threw everything at it in the final stages, with a turnover from another debutant Josh Bayliss putting a stop to Australia’s final chance to win it.
