Scotland 15 Australia 21: match report Speaking of which, Scotland full-back Sean Maitland suffered a serious rattling of his own when his kick from just outside his 22 was followed by a hard challenge, high and late, by Quade Cooper. The fact that the two players also happen to be cousins lent a certain poignancy to the moment. Leali'ifano did pull Australia level in the 22nd minute, driving home a penalty after another ruck offence by the Scots. Little by little, the errors began to slip out of the Wallabies" game, their ball-retention improved, and they began to gnaw away chunks of territory as the Scotland half became the stage for almost all the play. When Scotland lost their own lineout ball, their most glaring flaw last weekend, Australia were ready to strike. They shipped possession left and then, from the next breakdown, back to the right. The strategy pulled the Scottish defence apart, and a fine disguised pass from Cooper sent Folau streaking past Ryan Grant and in for a try, his ninth in 14 Tests. When they did get the ball, Scotland were certainly a lot tidier than they had been against the Springboks. There was a level-headedness about their play and none of the panic that disfigured their last performance. They were mostly playing too far from the Australia line to pose any great threat, but Laidlaw did cut the deficit to four points when he struck his third penalty through the posts just short of the half-hour mark. His fourth, six minutes later, cut that gap to one. The noise levels around Murrayfield started to rise, and they went to ear-splitting volume when Johnnie Beattie and Maitland raced off on a break that only ended when Sean Lamont was stopped just a yard short of the left corner. Scotland piled into the ruck, then retained possession for a few phases, but ultimately came away with nothing when Dave Denton knocked on. Scotland could certainly reflect with some satisfaction on their first-half efforts, but much of the good work was undone within three minutes of the start of the second period. Again, it was the swift efficiency of the Wallaby backline that cut them open and sent Feauai-Sautia over in the right corner, but Maitland fell off badly, making what might have been a try-saving tackle. But opportunity came knocking again for Scotland. First, Simmons swung two punches at Moray Low and earned a yellow card; then, from the penalty that followed, Laidlaw brought things back to 15-18. Down to 14 men, a predictable lethargy crept into Australia's play, but Scotland failed to take further advantage of Simmons" absence. Indeed, the only other score during this period was another penalty by Leali'ifano. Just before Simmons came back, Laidlaw mis-hit a penalty effort of his own. It was an ominous sign, and Australia seemed galvanised by the fact they had taken no further damage on the scoreboard. As the final quarter unfolded, they were the stronger side, hammering through phases with renewed will. Scotland did have one promising rally near the end, but it petered out quickly. Australia came back upfield, Lamont conceded a soft penalty near the Scotland 10-metre line, but Leali'ifano could not take advantage to stretch the scoreline.