Better, much better, but still not good enough.

Scotland salvaged a lot of pride from this performance, and to be within a converted try of the Wallabies at the finish was a considerable achievement, but it is as a measure of the true gap between the sides that they were flattered by the final scoreline.

Had Christian Leali'ifano, the Australian kicker, shown the same efficiency in front of the posts as his team-mates showed near the line then the visitors would have won by a far more comfortable margin.

Australia, living under the cloud of a drinks ban for the past week, will have fallen off the wagon with a thud of satisfaction last night. There were moments when it seemed that they might end up drowning their sorrows rather than celebrating a win, but they eased themselves over the finishing line and dealt easily with Scotland's fitful attempts to overhaul them. The Scots fought superbly at the breakdown in their final Autumn Test, denying Australia the quick ball they crave, but they were deficient in too many other areas.

Yes, the Scotland line-out was a vast improvement on the calamity we witnessed in the early stages of last weekend's 28-0 loss to South Africa, but it was still horribly short of Test standard. There is a weighty irony in the fact that Scotland now have their best crop of locks in a generation, but the organisation of their set-piece is letting them down. From errors there they gifted one try to Aust-ralia and then failed to press home near the end when they could have had the visitors on toast.

There was also a lack of composure about the performance at times. Head coach Scott Johnson talked afterwards about the naivete and inexperience of his squad, but there were plenty of players out there with years of international rugby on their clocks. The Scottish three-quarter line had a collective cap count of 130 before the game; the Australians' added up to just 27.

The most expensive rush of blood was the one suffered by Sean Maitland late in the first half. Johnnie Beattie had made a superb break from near halfway and Maitland carried on the move as he surged into Australian territory. All it needed was a crisp and well-timed pass and Sean Lamont would have been in for a try. But Maitland's pass failed both those tests and Lamont was dragged down short of the line.

The error was all the more damaging because of its timing. Over the preceding 15 minutes the Scots had gnawed away at Australia's seven-point advantage and a try before the interval would have turned the game's dynamic on its head. As it was, Australia were galvanised by the passage of play, their defence holding out brilliantly.

The Wallabies had every right to feel confident when the second half got under way. And it showed. Three minutes in, they worked their way across the pitch with a sequence of swift passes, the last of which was a beautifully weighted effort by Quade Cooper to Chris Feauai-Sautia. In other words, precisely the pass that Maitland should have thrown and there was irony in the fact Feauai-Sautia shook off Maitland's tackle to score.

It would be wrong, though, to pin too much blame on the full-back. In other regards Maitland carried the ball well, and he often set alarm bells ringing among players who remembered him all too well from his days at the Crusaders. But he was still a symbol of the wider malaise of the Scottish backline, which was not remotely as sharp as the one Australia fielded.

In fairness, much of Australia's advantage there came down to two players: fly-half Cooper and full-back Israel Folau. The former orchestrated the attacks quite brilliantly, while the latter was named Man of the Match for a performance of all-round excellence that was adorned by one moment of true genius. It came in the 26th minute, and had its origins in another Scottish blunder at the line-out. After stealing the ball there, Australia moved play to the left, then pulled it back to the middle of the field.

The effect of the switch was to stretch the Scottish defence, and Cooper spotted a gap. His delicious offload found Folau thundering up in support and the Wallabies' new sensation shot past Ryan Grant's attempt at a tackle and sped in for his try.

It was a thing of swift efficiency, and again the contrast with the Scots' efforts was glaring. Australia had actually started rather nervously, but they had found their rhythm by the time of Folau's score. Scotland deserved huge credit for girding themselves in its aftermath and not letting the game run away from them, but that display of finishing power showed the difference between the sides.

Greig Laidlaw weighed in with the five penalties that brought Scotland all their points. Overall, though, the nematode worms beneath the Murrayfield surface could claim a comfortable victory over the kickers, for both Laidlaw and Leali'ifano struggled to keep their footing.

Then again, maybe the worms were, er, rooting for Scotland. Overall, Leali'ifano had a far worse time of it, missing four kicks in all, including his final three. Had those efforts gone over, Scotland would be reflecting on a far more humbling experience.