Australia ‘Laidlaw’ by Scots

Greig Laidlaw converted a penalty against a fierce wind with the last kick of the game to hand Scotland a stunning 9-6 victory over Australia in atrocious weather yesterday and end his country’s seven-match losing streak. A match rendered almost farcical by gale-force winds and torrential rain looked destined to end in a draw until Scotland were awarded a penalty some 25 metres from the line for an scrum infringement two minutes after the siren. Flyhalf Laidlaw, whose own line-break had got the Scots into the Australian half, steadied his nerves, waited for the wind to die down a little before kicking the ball hard and high between the posts to secure a famous victory. It was a second successive win for the Scots over the Wallabies after their victory in Edinburgh in 2009 but their first in Australia since 1982 and followed a run of defeats going back to last year’s World Cup. “The boys are over the moon we put in a big shift in defence they put their bodies on the line,” said Scotland captain Ross Ford. “Contrary to popular belief we prefer playing in dry weather. Our boys just stuck in there and stuck to their task. “We put ourselves under a lot of pressure but when we finally got the ball we made the most of it. “I think it’s phenomenal, a great morale boost for the squad especially against a side like Australia.” Australia elected to play against the wind in the first half and were delighted to be just 6-3 down at the break after it looked like Scotland had squandered their significant advantage. The first half was largely a siege of the Wallabies line but the Scots lacked the imagination to break down the Australian defence and came away with only two Laidlaw penalties.from gulf times.