Scotland – Australia

Scotland will be out for revenge against Australia, after the Wallabies beat them thanks to a controversial last minute penalty in the quarterfinals of last year’s Rugby World Cup.

The Scots have steadily improved in the last couple of years under Vern Cotter and right now they are as good they have ever been in the last decade or so. Scotland had a brilliant showing in the World Cup last year, playing some superb attacking rugby and they backed up that performance in the Six Nations at the beginning of 2016. They won 2 matches against Italy and France, while losing the rest of the games (Wales, England, Ireland) by less than 10 points. Last time Scotland played was in June, when they won two times in Japan.

Australia looked really poor for most of this year, riding a 6 game losing streak at one point, but they turned it around in the second part of the recent Rugby Championship. Australia finished second in the competition, behind New Zealand and put in some really solid performances against Argentina, South Africa and even against the All Blacks but arguably the best came last week in Wales, with Australia playing lights out to win that test 32-8. Particularly since Foley returned to No.10 duty, Australia has been really good. They are on the back of a brilliant The Wallabies have called up their strongest available squad for these late year tests and they are deserving favorites to win in Scotland.

Bet on Scotland vs. Australia and claim your 100% (100 Eur) bonus at Ohmbet now!

Team news & lineups:

Both teams have selected really strong squads for this match and will field their best available lineups. Australia gets back Will Genia, which will be a huge plus.

Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (c), 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 John Barclay, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Dell

Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Reece Hodge, 11 Henry Speight, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia, 8 Lopeti Timani, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 David Pocock, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Scott Sio

I believe this will be an entertaining, high scoring clash. Both sides are at their strongest when the ball goes on the wings, as they have great pace and acceleration. Both are also good at line breaking, particularly Australia. This matchup produced a mouthwatering clash in the recent World Cup, with Australia winning 35-34.

Scotland will be eager to avenge the World Cup loss, as they still feel they were robbed of a place in the semifinal. In front of a packed Murrayfield (over 65.000 fans will attend), expect the Scots to play with a lot of energy and a positive, attacking attitude. This will guarantee a fast paced encounter, as Australia will not shy away from this type of game.

The under / over line is really low at 44,5 points and I will happily back the over with high stakes. Australia alone should score 3-4 tries against an inferior Scottish team which doesn`t defend that well. The Wallabies put 32 points last week on a Wales sides that is better and defends much better than Scotland.

On the same note, the hosts will also have plenty of chances when the ball goes on the wings and they have a world class penalty taker in Laidlaw, who is likely to get them some free points from difficult positions. After all, Scotland scored 21 or more points in 6 of the 7 matches played this year, with 5 of those matches coming in the Six Nations – which is traditionally low scoring. Australia could also be a bit tired after playing so much Rugby this Autumn and fatigue always leads to defensive errors.

In the end it all comes down to the fact that both sides play entertaining, running rugby and that the points line is low. Maybe it`s set at 44,5 points because Wales was unable to put more than 8 points past Australia last week, but Wales played extremely poor rugby and they do not have the same attacking mentality as Scotland anyway. The matchup between Scotland and Australia is definitely different.

All in all my tip here is over 44,5 points to be scored, with a solid stake of 9 units on the bet. Prediction: Scotland – Australia 24 – 31.

Pick: over 44,5 points
Odds: 1.90 @ Bet365
Stake: 9
Possible profit: 8.10
Event date: 12 November