Wallaroos hold off Scotland 38-31 in ten-try Canberra match
Australia beat Scotland 38-31 in a high-scoring women's match at GIO Stadium in Canberra on Friday, with ten tries scored between the two sides. The hosts, known as the Wallaroos, were ranked sixth in the world before kick-off, and Scotland came back from a poor start to make it close at the end.
Australia were quick out of the blocks. Amelia Whitaker and Maya Stewart both scored tries that were converted, meaning the goal kick after each try added two points. The Wallaroos led 14-0 after 12 minutes. Scotland's answer came through Malcolm, who scored twice, plus tries from Sutcliffe, Buchanan and Lloyd. Nelson kicked three conversions.
Scotland went in at half-time ahead 17-14, and the contest swung back and forth after the break. Australia moved in front 21-17 in the 44th minute. Tries from Moleka, Duck and Palu, and five conversions and a penalty from Wood, took the win. A penalty is worth three points and is awarded when the other side commits a foul.
The defeat was Scotland's ninth straight Test loss, according to BBC Sport. It also rounded off a WXV Global Series campaign in which Scotland lost all five of their matches. Earlier defeats came against Canada and New Zealand, with Australia beating them in each of the other fixtures. Australia had also won all six previous meetings between the two teams. In September, the Wallaroos beat Scotland 30-10 in Edinburgh, a game in which Scotland had led at half-time, according to Nine.
For Scotland, the squad was picked by interim head coach Dave Butcher, who named a 32-player group to travel to Australia on 6 October. The team had to deal with the timing of the game, which kicked off at 7.30pm local time in Canberra. That meant a 9.30am start in the UK, where the match was shown live on RugbyPass TV.
Maggie Cogger-Orr of New Zealand Rugby refereed the match, with Chloe Sampson as one of the assistant referees. Their job was to keep the game flowing and to decide on the many turnovers and penalties that a match this open produces.
What stands out is how little the score reflected the balance of play across long spells. Ten tries in one match is a lot, and both sides kept attacking even when they were behind. For Scotland, the next question is whether they can turn a series of narrow defeats into a win, while Australia will be pleased to have held firm when Scotland pushed back.
