Tuipulotu takes lead in Scotland show of strength

Scotland's autumn report card reads three wins out of four.

- Luke McLaughlin

That will do nicely, but Gregor Townsend's team felt obliged to defeat a resurgent Australia to regard this campaign as a success.

The hosts scored four tries in overwhelming Joe Schmidt's young side - there will be no Wallabies grand slam, no emulation of the heroes of 1984 - but the tourists stayed in the battle until the final quarter.

Player of the match, Blair Kinghorn, produced in an imperious display from full-back while the Scots captain, Sione Tuipulotu - born in Melbourne, raised between Australia and Tonga - led by example.

His Greenock-born grandmother, Jaqueline Thomson, even flew over for the occasion. "It felt weird," Tuipulotu said of seeing her up on the stadium's big screen. "I'm happy and a bit emotional that her life has gone full circle and she's back here watching me play for Scotland. I'm just happy she gets to have that moment."

In a fierce, niggly encounter Tuipulotu scored the opening try and also, unintentionally but significantly, took Australia's Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii out with a rampaging carry. It became a comfortable victory but there was inaccuracy and frustration too, especially in the first half.