Scotland celebrated their first defeat of Australia for 27 years with a determined 9-8 win at Murrayfield.

The visitors dominated possession and could have won it at the death but fly-half Matt Giteau’s missed conversion proved to be the last kick of the game as Scotland and new coach Andy Robinson celebrated a famous victory in Edinburgh.

Giteau drew first blood with an early penalty but the home side battled back into the game and took a 9-3 lead after two Phil Godman penalties and a Chris Paterson drop-goal.

The Wallabies were attacking with venom but the heroic Scottish backline wouldn’t budge as they repelled Australian offensive plays time and time again.

Ryan Cross finally touched over for the visitors in the first minute of injury time and it looked like Scotland’s hopes would be dashed once again.

But Giteau had been unusually inconsistent with the boot all game and sent his simple conversion way wide of the posts to hand the Scots the win and their just rewards.

How the Scotland players rated... 

1. Allan Jacobsen: Stood out in the loose and coped well with Australia’s developing scrum. 8

2. Ross Ford: Determined defensive display and also contributed to the game in the loose 8

3. Moray Low: Contested well in the scrum and built on last week’s performance. 8

4. Nathan Hines: Solid performer alongside Kellock. Effective in both the lineout and the loose. 8

5. Alastair Kellock: Took over the role of captaincy from Chris Cusiter and led from the front, awesome performance. 9

6. Alasdair Strokosch: Not his usual stand-out self but made a number of big impact hits in the first half. Was replaced by fellow bone-cruncher Jason White during the second half. 7

7. John Barclay: Coped well against one of the best in the business in George Smith. Robbed the ball on the floor copious amounts of times and proved his defensive worth throughout. 8

8. Johnnie Beattie: Effective in both defence and going forward throughout. A crucial part of a high-performing Scottish back-row. 8

9. Chris Cusiter: Always knocking on the door of the Australian defence, appeared to be knocked unconscious in a tackle but managed to track back to hold the ball to halt an Australian try early on before being carried off. 8

10. Phil Godman: Missed touch with a penalty but kicked well from ground and showed signs of creativity throughout. 8

11. Simon Danielli: Very few opportunities arose for the big winger to show his attacking prowess but performed well defensively. 8

12.  Graeme Morrison: His muscle added to the Scottish defence but a number of errors led to him being replaced at half time. 6

13. Alex Grove: continued big tackles from last week. Creative chip gained ground for Scots. This was a game about defense and Grove stood up to the Australians admirably. You wouldn’t think this was only his second cap. 9

14. Sean Lamont: Made a telling tackle on his opposite number early on which set the standard for an immense defensive display. Pulled up with cramp which was almost costly late in the match. 8

15. Rory Lamont: Scotland’s was a demonstration in defence and Lamont made some critical, often try-saving tackles and was reliable throughout. 9 

Replacements:

Rory Lawson was outstanding, Scotland’s third choice scrum-half was thrown in at the deep end and grasped the opportunity with open arms. Chris Paterson stepped up to the plate to win the match with a late drop goal. Richie Vernon and Jason White added significant force to Scotland’s dogged defence.