Scotland 27-13 Australia: Three things we learned

Ritchie returns to show his class

There were a few eyebrows raised when Jamie Ritchie was selected to start in the Scotland back-row against Australia. Many had expected Josh Bayliss to come in at number eight, but Gregor Townsend instead shifted Matt Fagerson to eight and brought Ritchie in at six. It was the right call – Ritchie was outstanding.

It’s been a strange old year or so for Ritchie. He led Scotland at last year’s Rugby World Cup but by the time this year’s Six Nations rolled around he had lost the captaincy and found himself in and out of the team as the Glasgow Fagerson-Darge-Dempsey trio became the established back-row unit.

Throw into the mix being part of a hopelessly under-performing Edinburgh side and it all adds up to a very challenging chapter in Ritchie’s career, but against the Wallabies he reminded us all what a top-class operator he is.

Townsend brought him into the side for his abilities in the air and on the floor, and in both facets he made an impact. His lineout work was good and we saw some of the open-field carrying that had disappeared from his game for a while.

Let’s hope this signals a return to top form because at his best, there are few better back-rows than Jamie Ritchie.

Gilchrist rolls back the years

Speaking of Edinburgh players shaking off mediocre club form to shine for the national team, Grant Gilchrist produced his best performance in a Scotland jersey for quite some time.

Gilchrist is as honest is the day is long and will hit rucks, make tackles and the hard yards until he has nothing left to give, but against Australia he was also coming up with big plays in big moments.

He somehow found his way to the ball and stripped an Australian maul that was heading towards the Scotland line, he stole at least one Wallaby line-out and he was carrying more prominently in the loose.

Gilchrist’s nous in running the line-out has become even more important following the departure from the Test scene of Richie Gray, but here he showed he has more to offer than simply being a set-piece organiser.

Wallabies hype crumbles in Murrayfield cauldron

Australia were the talk of the rugby world coming into this match. They were the team that had captured the imagination with thrilling wins over England and Wales and were halfway towards emulating Mark Ella and the Grand Slam Tour heroes of 1984.

In fairness to the Wallabies, none of the hype was coming from within the camp, but rather from fans and the media. That hype now looks a little premature after they were well beaten by a superior Scotland side.

It feels strange to write that about Scotland, but as Sione Tuipulotu said in his post-match press conference, this team believed they were better than Australia and their task was simply to go out and prove it. They did.

The Aussies have not become a bad team overnight – just as they did not become superstars after beating England and a poor Wales – and the talent in their ranks suggests they can be a force again in the coming months and years.

What Murrayfield showed was they still have a way to go to count themselves alongside the world’s leading nations, Scotland included.