Scotland 15-16 Australia: Blair Kinghorn misses late kick as Scots come up just short

Blair Kinghorn's precocious footwear drifted conscionable wide arsenic Scotland fell short

Scotland fell to decision successful their opening lucifer of the Autumn Nations Series against Australia arsenic Blair Kinghorn missed a last-gasp punishment for victory.

Kinghorn's converted effort and punishment enactment the Scots 15-6 up, though James Slipper's people and 5 much points from Foley turned the crippled the mode of the visitors.

A punishment successful the past infinitesimal would person snatched triumph for the location side, but Kinghorn could not find the target.

Scotland look Fiji adjacent weekend, portion Australia volition instrumentality connected France successful Paris.

• Reaction & arsenic it happened

The build-up to this autumn bid was dominated by a mates of monolithic calls by Gregor Townsend - 1 to driblet Finn Russell from his squad entirely, the different to portion Stuart Hogg of the captaincy and manus it to Jamie Ritchie.

Russell and Hogg were not disposable for this 1 anyway, with lone Scottish-based players eligible to Townsend with the lucifer falling extracurricular the designated Test window.

Australia's hunt for consistency has been each spot arsenic maddening for Dave Rennie arsenic Scotland's has for Townsend, but the hosts' archetypal foray into force territory brought an contiguous reward with the opening try.

A beautifully executed backs determination ended with Kinghorn delaying his walk to perfection to enactment Smith done a gap, and portion the young full-back mightiness person utilized the two-man overlap extracurricular him, helium justified his determination to spell unsocial by dancing his mode to the effort line.

Foley, the antheral who broke Scottish hearts with a precocious punishment successful the 2015 World Cup quarter-final, banged implicit a punishment successful effect to marque it 5-3.

Australia were winning the territory conflict successful the opening quarter, lone for their advancement to beryllium halted by the expertise of Ritchie and his team-mates astatine the breakdown. Four times the Wallabies were turned implicit conscionable arsenic they worked their mode into the Scottish 22.

The Scots passed up a precise kickable 3 points and went for the country successful hunt of more. And they should person had it erstwhile Kinghorn sent a beauteous agelong miss-pass towards Sione Tuipilotu, but with the effort enactment astatine his mercy the Glasgow centre fto the ball, and the chance, gaffe from his grasp. Moments aboriginal Glen Young was held up implicit the enactment arsenic the Scots pushed for a 2nd try.

At the different end, Andrew Kellaway chipped up and looked similar winning the contention to the escaped shot arsenic it bobbled towards the Scottish line, but Smith was live to the information to expanse up.

Foley struck again from the tee connected the changeable of half-time to nudge the Wallabies 1 constituent successful beforehand astatine the break.

It was a strangely subdued ambiance wrong Murrayfield, but the assemblage was brought to its feet erstwhile Scotland enactment themselves backmost successful beforehand aboriginal successful the 2nd half.

A large deed from Mark Bennett successful midfield saw the shot travel loose. Kinghorn hacked ahead, showed searing gait to outstrip the screen defence and superb footballing skills to nudge the shot up to stitchery and score.

Blair Kinghorn went implicit successful a scintillating effort aboriginal successful the 2nd half

So overmuch absorption has fallen connected Kinghorn going into this bid pursuing Russell's daze omission, and determination were signs present helium is shedding the 'L' plates arsenic an planetary 10.

He knocked implicit a punishment to agelong the pb to 15-6, and it astir got adjacent amended arsenic a interruption from Duhan van der Merwe took the Scots to the brink of the Australia line, but Grant Gilchrist spilled the shot arsenic helium looked to batter his mode over. In the aforesaid transition of play, Young was sin-binned for an amerciable clearout that offered the visitors encouragement.

On the hr people we saw the instauration of Jack Dempsey for his Scotland debut. A caller alteration to eligibility rules means the Glasgow fig 8 is eligible to power countries contempt having won 14 caps for his autochthonal Australia.

It indispensable person been a unusual emotion for Dempsey taking his Scotland bow against his countrymen, but his caput would person snapped into cogwheel beauteous rapidly arsenic nary sooner was Dempsey connected the transportation than his aged team-mates were crossing the whitewash, a play of sustained unit finished disconnected erstwhile skipper Slipper dived over.

Still the lucifer was struggling to get into a flow. At the 70-minute people the punishment number had deed 26 - 14 of those against Scotland, the latest of which Foley fired implicit to borderline the Wallabies backmost successful front.

Scotland had to find thing now, and a play of unit brought a punishment 45m out.

Maybe it was destiny that dictated this crippled would travel down to Kinghorn, fixed the absorption connected him successful the build-up and his power connected the lucifer itself. But erstwhile his large infinitesimal arrived with the timepiece ticking towards the 80-minute mark, the fly-half fluffed his lines, pulling his footwear wide of the posts.

And with that, the crippled was gone. A crippled Scotland mightiness good person won, but didn't. Test rugby tin beryllium brutal sometimes.

Scotland: Ollie Smith, Darcy Graham, Mark Bennett, Sione Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe, Blair Kinghorn, Ali Price; Pierre Schoeman, Dave Cherry, Zander Fagerson, Sam Skinner, Grant Gilchrist, Jamie Ritchie (capt), Hamish Watson, Matt Fagerson.

Replacements: George Turner, Jamie Bhatti, WP Nel, Glen Young, Jack Dempsey, George Horne, Ross Thompson, Damien Hoyland.

Australia: Banks, Kellaway, Ikitau, Paisami, Wright, Foley, McDermott; Slipper, Porecki, Alaalatoa, Frost, Neville, Holloway, Hooper, Valetini

Replacements: Fainga'a, Gibbon, Tupou, Hanigan, Gleeson, White, Lolesio, Campbell