Back at seven: George Smith
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Australia will surely be using Brian O'Driscoll as motivation at Murrayfield as they look to remain unbeaten before trekking south to Wales.
The Irish centre's well-worked late score of last week will have no doubt cut Robbie Deans' side deep in extinguishing their pre-tour goal of picking up the home nations grand slam.
But with that carrot now gone, they quickly turn their attention to Scotland, who seem to be buying into new coach Andy Robinson's ideas even at this early stage of his second international tenure.
Australia have resisted wielding the axe following victory being somewhat snatched from their fingertips as Deans brings in just George Smith in place of the rested David Pocock, due to him being 'knocked around' last Sunday.
And the coach is under no illusions of the size of his team's penultimate tour task, citing their new-found spirit as a tough proposition to face in the Edinburgh venue.
"They're playing at home, have nothing to lose, and much to gain," explained a wary Deans.
"They'll bring a lot of enthusiasm and hunger to Saturday. They'll also be very physical, totally committed and well organized."
The visitors' starting XV does impress when scanning through a back-row that boasts both experience and top of the range class, which will cause Scotland plenty of problems.
Deans has also once again stuck with Quade Cooper and Digby Ioane at 12 and 13 due to Berrick Barnes and Stirling Mortlock nursing separate injuries. That combination seemed to work well for 79 minutes in Dublin.
Queensland Reds star Cooper was deployed more as a ten though in that clash with Matt Giteau outside so expect the same make-up again this time around.
"They started with a win last weekend over Fiji, but I'm sure they will have kept a few things up their sleeve for us!" said Deans, who went on to reveal his respect for opposing coach.
"Andy's record as a coach is outstanding and he'll do some very good things with Scotland."
Praise indeed for the former Edinburgh mentor, who was satisfied with many aspects of his side's 23-10 effort over a depleted Fiji. But as is so often the case with this hard task-master, he immediately demanded a 15 per cent improvement against the Wallabies.
"Right across the board, we've looked at every single area - in our attack, our defence, scrum, line-out, to say how we're going to improve, and we need to improve this week," he said.
"You always celebrate victories; it's important to do that and pat the guys on the back.
"But, once the game's over and you've enjoyed your Saturday, you start focusing on the next challenge.
"It's 0-0 against Australia, we have a different referee, we have a tough opposition that we've not beaten since 1982; we've got a tough job ahead of us."
Ones to watch:
For Scotland: Andy Robinson's back-row will need to be right on top of their game against the experienced Australian trio of Wycliff Palu, George Smith and Rocky Elsom on Saturday. John Barclay must beat Smith to the breakdown, Al Strokosch must take Elsom out of the game and Johnnie Beattie has to out-run the powerful Palu and back up his score against Fiji not seven days ago.
For Australia: The only change made from Dublin sees George Smith given a run-out in place of the rested David Pocock and will be eager to prove a point to his boss Robbie Deans. Even veteran Phil Waugh was surprised Smith wasn't utilised in the 20-20 draw but a strong showing could still push the Brumby back into the starting XV against Wales.
Head-to-head: Despite this duo being at other ends of the field on Saturday, Rory Lamont and Adam Ashley-Cooper's roles will be no less important. Both these in-form full-backs possess strength in the carry stakes and don't need a second invitation to join the line in attack, with wings Sean Lamont, Simon Danielli, Peter Hynes and Drew Mitchell sure to add to the back-three battle.
Recent results:
2006: Australia won 44-15 in Edinburgh
2004: Australia won 35-15 in Melbourne
2004: Australia won 34-13 in Sydney
2004: Australia won 31-17 in Glasgow
2004: Australia won 31-14 in Edinburgh
2003: Australia won 33-16 in Brisbane
2000: Australia won 30-9 in Edinburgh
1998: Australia won 45-3 in Sydney
1998: Australia won 33-11 in Brisbane
1997: Australia won 37-8 in Edinburgh
Prediction: Scotland head into this one seriously believing that they can topple their southern hemisphere opponents, but their poor run against the Wallabies will continue on Saturday. Too much class will see Australia win by 15 points!
The teams:
Scotland: 15 Rory Lamont, 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Alex Grove, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Simon Danielli, 10 Phil Godman, 9 Chris Cusiter (c), 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 John Barclay, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Alastair Kellock, 4 Nathan Hines, 3 Moray Low, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Dougie Hall, 17 Kyle Traynor, 18 Jason White, 19 Richie Vernon, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Chris Paterson, 22 Nick De Luca.
Australia: 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Peter Hynes, 13 Digby Ioane, 12 Quade Cooper, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Will Genia, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 George Smith, 6 Rocky Elsom (c), 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 James Horwill, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Sekope Kepu, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 Richard Brown, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Ryan Cross, 22 James O'Connor.
Date: Saturday, November 21
Venue: Murrayfield
Kick-off: 17.15 GMT
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Jérôme Garces (France)
Television match officials: Graham Hughes (England)
Assessor: Tappe Henning (South Africa)
By Mike Chadwick
Comments
Trinats says...
Going on averages, Australia will win by 23 points. 35-12
Posted 11:00 21st November 2009
Wallaroo says...
Australia by 20
Posted 12:16 20th November 2009