Western Force winger Harry Potter scores debut try, but Scotland end Wallabies grand slam hopes with 27-13 win

Western Force winger Harry Potter has scored on his international debut — but it was not enough to rescue the Wallabies’ dreams of a rare and historic grand slam. Australia were put to the sword 27-13 by a ruthless Scotland at Murrayfield, brought crashing back down to earth after wins over England and Wales. Despite a strong start, ill-disicpline and a lack of cohesion thwarted the Wallabies, who would have faced the prospect of a first grand slam — wins over England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland — since 1984 had they won. Instead, the Wallabies will lick their wounds and aim for an improved effort when they take on Ireland in Dublin on Sunday to conclude their 2024 slate of fixtures. But Force star Potter’s debut and late try was a ray of sunshine on an otherwise dim day for the green and gold. While Scotland were up 27-6 with five minutes to play, Potter raced onto Tate McDermott’s grubber kick following a quick line-out to corral the ball and touch down over the goal-line for his first Test try. It was a mixed day for the Force’s contingent at Murrayfield, as Australia’s forwards were well-beaten by their Scottish counterparts and the backs were deprived of clean ball. Force skipper Jeremy Williams was a late out on the morning due to sickness, and the line-out struggled without him. Hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa had some nice moments at the breakdown, but Scotland were able to disrupt his line-out throws, particularly after Will Skelton was substituted off. With Fraser McReight rested, Perth-born flanker Carlo Tizzano was reinstated in the starting line-up and won a couple of turnovers, but was also on the wrong side of the referee on multiple occassions. To add insult to injury, prized league-convert Joseph Suaalii was forced off with what appeared to be a broken wrist. “It was intense. I felt we were in the contest, particularly in the first half and we probably should’ve converted a few more points with the pressure we had,” coach Joe Schmidt said. “The breakdown was pretty messy and I think that’s just the way Scotland like it. It makes it very difficult to construct your play and we also found it difficult trying to get past guys around the breakdown and that’s something we’ve got to solve. “If you miss over 30 tackles in an international then you’re just not going to win them.”