Scotland seek to restore pride against Wallabies

TASK CUT OUT: Laidlaw

Scotland have a point to prove against Australia in their upcoming Test after finishing this season’s Six Nations without a win, flyhalf Greig Laidlaw said yesterday.
The Scots collected the wooden spoon after going down 13-6 to Italy in Rome in March but are hoping to spring an upset against the Wallabies, ranked number two in the world, in Newcastle on Tuesday.
Scotland are seeking to stun the Wallabies in a similar manner to their shock 9-8 win at Murrayfield in November 2009 which ended a 16-game losing run against Australia.
Some rugby observers described that match as Australia’s worst defeat of the professional (post-1995) era.
Laidlaw, the Edinburgh playmaker, said he wants to restore pride to the team’s dark blue jersey. “Talk is cheap. We definitely have a point to prove,” he told reporters.
“It’s about going out on the pitch and it’s about proving we’re a good team and it’s the only way we can go about doing it.
“We’ve talked a lot about reigniting the passion for Scotland and that’s something we’ll try and do on this tour.”
Scotland have made six changes from the Rome defeat and are expected to give Ryan Grant, the Glasgow Warriors loose-head prop, his first cap.
Uncapped Edinburgh centre Matt Scott has been named to start with two others looking to make their debuts among the replacements—Edinburgh wing/full-back Tom Brown and Tom Ryder, the Glasgow Warriors lock.
Coach Andy Robinson said: “We were all very disappointed by the results in the Six Nations and this tour is about our strong collective determination to put that right, play with confidence and win back pride.”
“When we last played Australia three years ago, it was one of the most courageous performances of scramble defence I have ever seen.”
The Wallabies are resting some players ahead of the first of three Tests against Six Nations Grand Slam champions Wales in Brisbane four days later.
Wallabies’ hooker Stephen Moore admits the warning signs are there for his team, who are blooding six debutants—Dan Palmer, Joe Tomane, Dave Dennis, Mike Harris, Luke Morahan and Michael Hooper.
Moore was part of Australia’s humiliating defeat to Scotland three years ago and believes the Scots will be sensing another upset.
“I’m sure they will be. From their side of things they’ll be looking at that as a reason why they can win the game for sure ... they’re going to see this as a real opportunity,” Moore said.
“We’re not going to use (poor preparation) as an excuse. We’ve all played enough together. We’ll just keep things simple.
“We know they’ve had a really good preparation for this game, they’ve had two weeks together.
“There is a little bit (of the unknown) and we probably haven’t had the time to have an in-depth review of the way they’ve played ... it’s really been looking at the way we want to play the game.”
It is 30 years since Scotland’s last success in Australia, at Brisbane’s Ballymore stadium in 1982, and overall the Wallabies lead 18 wins to eight.