Wallabies player ratings vs Scotland | Nations Championship 2026

Wallabies player ratings: Australia arrived in Edinburgh sitting third in the Nations Championship Southern Hemisphere standings and badly needing a result to keep pace with the teams above them. Instead, Les Kiss’ side turned in one of their more frustrating displays of the year, falling 15-12 despite enjoying scrum dominance and possession for long periods.

The Wallabies rarely looked capable of translating that set-piece superiority into meaningful attacking pressure and, aside from Harry Potter’s superb first-half finish, struggled to get their dangerous outside backs into the game. Suddenly coming to life in the last ten minutes was a case of too little, too late.

Here are our Wallabies player ratings:

15. Tom Wright – 5
A reasonably assured outing from the full-back without ever becoming a genuine attacking threat. Produced a clever kick that helped Jorgensen win territory early on and had a few decent moments under the high ball. The opportunities to inject himself into the game were limited.

14. Max Jorgensen – 5.5
Produced an outstanding chase, contest and regather sequence after 17 minutes to win Australia valuable field position. Unfortunately, that proved one of the few notable moments in a game where attacking chances were at a premium. Starved of space and barely received a sniff. Picked up a late consolation try for the Wallabies.

Fixture

Nations Championship

Scotland

15 - 12

Full-time

Australia

All Stats and Data

13. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii – 5.5
A strange one. Barely involved for the opening 25 minutes and it was fair to wonder whether Australia were failing to find him or whether he needed to go looking for more work himself. A poor pass late in the first half didn’t help. Much better after the break, though. Put in a crunching hit on Kyle Steyn, pressured Huw Jones into an error and finally got his hands on the ball with a useful offload. Signs of life, but you still feel his full talent isn’t yet being fully explored by this side.

12. Len Ikitau – 5
Scotland deserve credit here. One of the Wallabies’ most reliable midfield operators was extremely well contained and struggled to find any room. Helped create Potter’s try with his distribution chain involvement but otherwise found himself wrapped up in Scottish traffic all afternoon.

11. Harry Potter – 7.5
Australia’s brightest back. Finished his first-half try with genuine class after excellent handling from Gordon, Williams and Ikitau created the opportunity. Still had plenty to do and produced a world-class finish to beat the cover defence. Also attempted a kick after the break that went badly wrong but escaped punishment.

10. Carter Gordon – 6
His first Test appearance since recovering from a fractured fibula. There was plenty to like. Kicked well out of hand throughout, found an excellent touchfinder after a scrum penalty and showed some lovely passing in the build-up to Potter’s score. Clearly a very good footballer. Equally, there were costly moments. Got isolated and turned over on six minutes after being caught deep by Blair Kinghorn, flirted with disaster covering in behind on multiple occasions and badly overcooked a kick intended for Jorgensen. You can see the quality beneath the surface but he couldn’t unlock the Wallabies attack in Edinburgh.

9. Ryan Lonergan – 6
Delivered generally tidy service and got good distance on his box kicking. A bizarre first-half drop-goal attempt barely got off the ground and resembled a dead duck. More than redeemed himself with a superb midfield tackle on Finn Russell after 63 minutes that dislodged possession and snuffed out a dangerous Scottish attack.

Territory

11%

29%

19%

41%

60%

Territory

40%

8. Harry Wilson – 5
A mixed afternoon from the captain. Was effective at the lineout and managed proceedings well with both referee and teammates. There was plenty of grunt in his work but perhaps not enough dominant carrying from a player Australia needed to bend the gainline. A loose pass late on handed possession back to Scotland at a particularly painful moment.

7. Fraser McReight – 8.5
Outstanding. Australia’s best player. The specialist groundhog was a menace throughout and produced crucial turnover penalties in both halves. The first arrived after 22 minutes and another just before the break halted Scottish momentum. Tireless, influential and one of the few Wallabies consistently winning collisions.

6. Rob Valetini – 5
One of those afternoons where nothing really happened for him. Usually such a destructive carrier and defender, but Scotland had clearly identified him as a primary threat and did an excellent job shutting him down. Well contained throughout.

5. Jeremy Williams – 7
Got through plenty of unseen work and his handling helped create Potter’s try. Worked hard in the tight exchanges and lineout. Not flashy, but one of Australia’s more dependable performers. Threw a nice pass in the lead-up to Jorgensen late 5-pointer.

4. Josh Canham – 8
Excellent. The 6ft 8in, 119kg lock was a major presence. Combined with Valetini for an outstanding choke tackle turnover and also charged down a kick, although the effort was later ruled offside. His athleticism stands out every time he plays. Thought he had helped create a Billy Pollard maul try only for the TMO to intervene.

3. Allan Alaalatoa – 6.5
Missed a tackle early but was otherwise solid. The Wallabies generally enjoyed the better of the scrum battle and the experienced tighthead played his part in that. Reliable without dominating.

2. Billy Pollard – 5
His throwing was excellent for much of the game and he looked to have earned himself a try from a driving maul before the score was ruled out for a technical infringement. Unfortunately a yellow card for a high tackle on Kinghorn was a turning point and hurt Australia during a critical period.

1. Angus Bell – 7.5
Another industrious shift. Didn’t have many headline moments but carried repeatedly and kept coming back for more work. The type of performance that becomes more impressive the longer you watch it. Also stepped up and threw into the lineout during Pollard’s sin-bin period.

Replacements – 7.5
The replacement front row ensured Australia’s scrum superiority remained intact. Brandon Paenga-Amosa hit his first lineout target and settled quickly. Isaac Kailea and Taniela Tupou maintained pressure up front, with Tupou producing a brilliant jackal turnover, using every bit of his 148kg frame to become an immovable object over the ball. Tate McDermott and Ben Donaldson brought some urgency to proceedings. Lachlan Shaw, Tom Hooper and Filipo Daugunu all arrived into a game where opportunities were limited, but none were able to provide the attacking spark Australia desperately needed.