The following is a preview with betting tips for the 2015 Rugby World Cup quarter-final clash between Australia and Scotland. More details, including team sheets, will be added as they become available.
Note that the majority of this content is sourced from our 2015 Rugby World Cup Form Guides, Previews & Tips page.
Australia vs. Scotland
Stage: Quarter-finals
Twickenham Stadium, London
October 19, 2015
Kick-off at 2:00 AM
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Australia squad: 1. Scott Sio , 2. Stephen Moore (captain) , 3. Sekope Kepu , 4. Kane Douglas, 5. Rob Simmons, 6. Scott Fardy , 7. Michael Hooper , 8. Ben McCalman , 9. Will Genia , 10. Bernard Foley , 11. Drew Mitchell, 12. Matt Giteau, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 14. Adam Ashley-Cooper, 15. Kurtley Beale. Replacements: 16. Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17. James Slipper , 18. Greg Holmes, 19. Dean Mumm , 20. Sean McMahon, 21. Nick Phipps , 22. Matt Toomua, 23. Quade Cooper
Scotland squad: 1. Alasdair Dickinson, 2. Fraser Brown, 3. WP Nel, 4. Tim Swinson, 5. Richie Gray, 6. Blair Cowan, 7. John Hardie, 8. Dave Denton, 9. Greig Laidlaw (captain), 10. Finn Russell, 11. Tommy Seymour, 12. Pete Horne, 13. Mark Bennett, 14. Sean Maitland, 15. Stuart Hogg. Replacements: 16. Kevin Bryce, 17. Gordon Reid, 18. Jon Welsh, 19. Alasdair Strokosch, 20. Josh Strauss, 21. Henry Pyrgos, 22. Richie Vernon, 23. Sean Lamont
Preview: Australia have enjoyed a strong start to the World Cup. They progressed from the Pool of death as winners, dispatching England with ease before seeing off Wales with a fantastic defensive display. The Wallabies also won the Rugby Championship, with their loss to New Zealand at Eden Park their only defeat of 2015.
It’s no coincidence that the Wallabies’ resurgence in form has coincided with David Pocock’s return to fitness. You also have to give a lot of credit to coach Michael Cheika, who took over from Ewen McKenzie in calamitous circumstances at the end of 2014.
The Wallabies will know that they have an excellent chance of progressing to the final, with the All Blacks and Springboks both on the other side of the draw. They can ill-afford to look past this fixture, however, because Japan has shown that anything can happen in the World Cup.
On the injury front, Pocock has a calf complaint but the Wallabies camp is optimistic he will be ready for this weekend. The same goes for Israel Folau, who has missed much of training after rolling his ankle against England.
Scotland defeated Australia in 2012 and lost narrowly in 2013, however much has happened since then with the Wallabies now ranked 2nd in the World with Scotland languishing at 9th. South Africa dispatched Scotland by 18 points in the Pool stage so bookmakers have pretty much written off their chances against Australia. Scotland’s task this weekend has been made harder by the suspensions to forwards Ross Ford and Jonny Gray. Should they pull off an upset, it would deliver Scotland’s first semi-final appearance in 24 years.
Betting: Australia should be too strong but there’s very little value in the head-to-head market, with the Wallabies installed as 1.10 favourites. Scotland lost by 18 points to South Africa in their pool clash, but they fielded an under-strength team that day so I give them a fighting chance of covering the line.
Betting tip: back Scotland +16.5 in the Line market at 1.952 (Pinnacle Sports)
UPDATE:
David Pocock and Israel Folau have been ruled out of this clash due to injury. Ben McCalman will play at No. 8 while Kurtley Beale will start at fullback.
| Selection |  |
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia Scotland |
1.10 8.98 |
1.10 8.50 |
1.08 8.20 |
1.09 6.95 |
| Australia Scotland |
(-16.5) 1.95 (+16.5) 1.95 |
(-16.0) 2.00 (+16.0) 2.00 |
(-16.5) 1.91 (+16.5) 1.91 |
(-16.5) 1.90 (+16.5) 1.90 |
Form Guide: Australia
| Date (y-m-d) | Fixture | Result | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-10-11 | Australia vs. Wales | Win | 15-6 |
| 2015-10-04 | England vs. Australia | Win | 13-33 |
| 2015-09-28 | Australia vs. Uruguay | Win | 65-3 |
| 2015-09-24 | Australia vs. Fiji | Win | 28-13 |
| 2015-09-05 | USA vs. Australia | Win | 10-47 |
| 2015-08-15 | New Zealand vs. Australia | Loss | 41-13 |
| 2015-08-08 | Australia vs. New Zealand | Win | 27-19 |
| 2015-07-25 | Argentina vs. Australia | Win | 9-34 |
Form Guide: Scotland
| Date (y-m-d) | Fixture | Result | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-10-11 | Samoa vs. Scotland | Win | 33-36 |
| 2015-10-04 | South Africa vs. Scotland | Loss | 34-16 |
| 2015-09-28 | Scotland vs. USA | Win | 39-16 |
| 2015-09-23 | Scotland vs. Japan | Win | 45-10 |
| 2015-09-05 | France vs. Scotland | Loss | 19-16 |
| 2015-08-29 | Scotland vs. Italy | Win | 48-7 |
| 2015-08-22 | Italy vs. Scotland | Win | 12-16 |
| 2015-08-15 | Ireland vs. Scotland | Loss | 28-22 |
H2H Guide: Australia vs. Scotland
| Date (y-m-d) | Fixture | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2013-11-23 | Scotland vs. Australia | 15-21 |
| 2012-06-05 | Australia vs. Scotland | 6-9 |
Note: only league games are included. The above does not include preseason and cup fixtures.
Value Guides:
| Team | Market | Last 6 | Last 12 | Last 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | H2H | $0.48 | $0.46 | $-1.63 |
| Scotland | H2H | $-1.43 | $-5.82 | $-6.13 |
The above figures represent the net profit from wagering $1.00 on the associated selection each game.