Wallabies and Scotland World Cup encounter turns Waratahs teammates against each other

“It’s going to be interesting,” said Scotsman Murray. 

His Australian teammate refuses to consider an upset.

“No. Not at all,” Meggison said.

An upset stomach is not out of the question. 

“We’ve organised with all the lads a national cuisine night,” Meggison said.

“Chris is cooking up a haggis and I’m cooking up a lamb stew and we’re going to get a crowd to vote whose is better – although I don’t know how he’s going to get a haggis this far south of the equator!”

On the field, Murray believes this is the best Scottish team in a decade but believes they’ll be up against it.

“My heart says Scotland but my frame of mind is Australia. We need Australia to have a bad game, to play worse than they’ve played against anybody else all this tournament,” Murray said.

“I think we’re being very underestimated.

“I think it’s going to be fairly close either way.”

Meggison agrees it will be close, but is tipping the Wallabies by five points.

“It’s definitely going to be closer than that England game, that’s for sure,” Meggison said.

“I just think two teams willing to play running rugby will expose defence.

“I think there’s going to be a few tries, I think it’s going to be a really exciting game and I think whoever goes through will be in the last game of the competition as well.”

The Waratahs backrower said it's been a win for the Waratahs to have a Scottish influence at the club. 

Murray, who plays prop, and Euan Bonner have been at Waratahs since 2013, after linking up with an old Edinburgh Academicals teammate Jake Eaglesham. 

“These three guys have really changed our club on and off the field, it’s been great.”

Murray couldn’t be happier.

“It’s very different to playing back home,” he said.

“It’s probably a lot more enjoyable, purely because the weather is a bit better – you’re not covered in mud every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for six months.”