Bernard Foley's 79th minute penalty broke Scottish hearts after being on the verge of a massive upset at a rain drenched Twickenham this evening.
Scotland lost this in the cruelest of fashions, failing to control their own lineout with 90 seconds remaining, the ball squirmed loose with Jon Welsh playing it from an offside position, allowing Foley to step up and crush the Scottish dream.
The impossible seemed probable when James Slipper's looped pass was intercepted by Mark Bennett, allowing the outside centre to ghost under the posts with six minutes remaining.
Momentarily it seemed there would be European representation in this years semi-finals as Scotland's will to hang in there and fight for scraps was about to pay off, alas, it was not to be.
Australia were heavy favourites heading into this match and for all intents and purposes, it looked like they were going to run away with it as Adam Ashley-Cooper got the first of five Australian trys when he was set free by Tevita Kuridrani after Tommy Seymour rushed up and missed the tackle. Foley missed the conversion, the first of three missed kicks.
Scotland responded well, working themselves into a dangerous position before winning the penalty which Greig Laidlaw kicked. The Bravehearts then took everybody by surprise after Peter Horne dotted down under the posts.
Working themselves deep into Wallaby territory, Horne picked from the bottom of a ruck and slipped through a gap in the Australian rearguard to go over. Laidlaw converted and soon added another penalty and all of a sudden the Scots led by eight points.
Australia woke up after this and after some patient build up close to the line, they went wide where Kurtley Beale's long pass sent the Toloun wing racing for the corner. Again, Foley was offpoint with the conversion leaving the Scots ahead by three.
Another Laidlaw penalty put six between them before the Wallabies pack got one over on their counterparts, mauling over from close range with Michael Hooper credited with the score. Foley's wayward kicking continued and Scotland went in at the interval leading by one.
Any hopes of an upset were dealt a major blow as Sean Maitland was harshly binned early in the second for a deliberate knock-on, and they were made to pay immediately, with Mitchell grabbing his second after Australia went to the maul and Genia fed him. Foley converted and it was thought Scotland might fade, but another Laidlaw penalty kept them in touch.
Luck was on Scotland's side as Ashley-Cooper looked to have scored his second try before Maitland returned to the field, but a fingertip knock-on from Genia at the ruck previous meant the score was ruled out. Foley's first penalty of the day left six between them as the Aussie's looked to exert their dominance on the game.
The Scots were living on scraps but they were more than enough to keep them alive, as Finn Russell blocked a poor Foley clearance and offloaded to Seymour who got over in the corner. Laidlaw couldn't tag on the extras and there was one between them on the hour mark.
The trys continued to flow with Tevita Kuridrani touching down and Foley converting to extend the lead to eight with just over 15 minutes left. It looked like it was enough as Scotland refused to stop fighting and another Laidlaw penalty made it a one score game entering the final 10 minutes.
Then cue hysteria as Slipper threw an awful intercept in a rain soaked Twickenham, and Scotland led. It looked like they had kept Europe alive at the World Cup, only for Bernard Foley late intervention.
Match Highlights:
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