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Former Wallabies scrum-half Nick Phipps has no doubts Australia has world-class players capable of disrupting opposition defenses but believes they “have to choose their moments better” after the 15-12 loss Scotland in Murrayfield.
Harry Potter gave Wallabies fans in Australia plenty to cheer about in the early hours of Monday morning, with the center wing crossing for the team’s first try on 15 minutes. But the Australians did not score another point for nearly 70 minutes, when Max Jorgensen crossed the try line.
Western Force teammates Ben Donaldson and Jeremy Williams helped make something out of nothing, setting up Max Jorgensen for a crucial try with a minute to go. ‘Jorgo’ made it a one-score game but the Scots held on to win Nations Championship thriller.
The Wallabies made 10 line breaks against Scotland, had more than 90 meters after contact over the boards, and had three players carry at least 44 metres. Fraser McReight and Harry Wilson also topped the tackle charts, with 29 and 22 tackles respectively.
“If you’re Les Kiss, you’re sitting in a team meeting this week and you’re showing those two tries and you’re showing the opportunities ahead of them. They’ve got it in them, they’ve got the skills, they’re world-class players,” Phipps said on Stan Sport’s show after the game.
“It’s about consistency in getting that ball to the right spot. It’s about getting players where you want to get them over the (advantage) line and then being able to switch, if that’s the way they want to play, at the right time.”
“But they have to choose their moments better. Too many times they did it too late. There was space there on the edge where they could have pulled the trigger from that front pod but they did it too late, gave the Scots time to let go and defend. Then we hit brick walls again.”
Carter Gordon returned from injury on the sideline, linking up with Ryan Lonergan at half-time. Len Ikitau and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii have also renewed their midfield combination following Isaac Henry’s season-ending hamstring injury.
The Wallabies looked to bounce back from a 45-17 defeat England last week, and as captain Wilson admitted, the group still took a “step forward” despite the result. “But it wasn’t a win. We want to win,” Wilson explained.
Australia took three of the last five penalties and had just 40 per cent possession in the final 10 minutes. Phipps warned it could be “the same old story” in the north if the Wallabies don’t sort out their form before they face Wales.
“You need to work on the tactics, definitely, on that form of attack. Whether you can develop that in seven days is up to them. Otherwise it will be the same old story in the game in the northern hemisphere,” explained Phipps.
“You’re going to try to make sure you look after that high ball. The breakdown contest has to be physical again and as we talked about in the pre-game, the forwards need to direct traffic through the middle of the pitch. They need to be physical up front.”
