SCOTLAND'S International season got off to a

winning start last weekend against the USA but Saturday's Test against World Champions Australia will be a more accurate gauge of how much they have learned from their summer tour to New Zealand.

In both Tests against New Zealand they secured an extraordinary amount of possession yet they still suffered hugely when the scores were posted.

Against the Americans, Scotland again won more than their fair share of ball but only finally managed to break free of the excellent defence in the last quarter. An excellent crowd of 35,000 cheered the home side on to score six second half tries and they will return this weekend hoping for more of the same.

Out and out pace is a massive requirement for modern day International rugby and Scotland look a bit more prepared in that department than they have for some time.

Their forwards all appear comfortable with ball in hand and having Gregor Townsend on form in the pivotal stand off role offers more attacking options. Outside him John Leslie was his usual steady self while Alan Bulloch had the sort of debut you could only dream about. Three terrific breaks opened up the American defence although tries were squandered when he failed to release the outside man on at least two occasions. However that is all part of the learning process and come Saturday tea time he will know all about what its like to play against a proper team.

Australia have huge confidence in themselves and despite not having played for nine weeks they still managed to overcome a fired up French team seeking revenge for their loss in the World Cup final a year ago. They are not the flashiest team in the world yet they are so organized and know instinctively what to do in most situations that they are very hard to break down. The challenge for both Scotland and England is to keep being patient and somehow seek to get past the almost impenetrable defence. Only one try was conceded during last years World Cup winning run (and that was by the Americans) which is impressive defence in anyone's language. England undoubtedly must fancy their chances of causing an upset and could conceivably win the kicking contest if it came down to Wilkinson versus Burke. They are undoubtedly two of the world's best and I'm sure the Twickenham masses wouldn't mind how their team achieved a victory.

It is important for the Northern Hemisphere to start beating the top three on a regular basis and not just at home. Much has been made of the European Cup and I think that it has been great for rugby in the Six Nations.

However in order to give it further credence the International teams have to be performing as well and now that the Autumn Internationals are fixed in the rugby calendar the opportunities are there. Let us hope Scotland and England are up for the challenge.