Rennie wants more 'clinical' Wallabies against Scotland

Australia head into their European tour opener against Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday with coach Dave Rennie urging the Wallabies to be "far more clinical" than in last year's corresponding fixture.

Rennie's men suffered a frustrating 15-13 defeat in Edinburgh that ended a five-match winning streak against all opponents and marked the start of an ongoing run of just three victories from 12 matches.

"We had a lot of opportunities to score which we didn't take," Rennie told reporters on Thursday.

"We've got to be far more clinical - we only scored one try."

"We're well aware of the threat they (Scotland) pose.

"They're excellent post tackle, they have an ability to get a couple in the tackle and choke you and slow your ball down so they can get a wall in front of you. So getting quick ball has been a big focus for us."

With flyhalf Quade Cooper injured, Rennie has now opted for a new half-back pairing of scrum-half Tate McDermott and Bernard Foley in the run-up to next year's Rugby World Cup in France.

Foley is well-known to Scotland, having landed the controversial penalty that condemned them to an agonising 35-34 loss in a 2015 World Cup quarter-final at Twickenham.

Australia will be bolstered by the return of flanker and former captain Michael Hooper, who hasn't played for the Wallabies since withdrawing on the eve of August's match against Argentina in Mendoza as he was not in the "right mindset" to lead his country.

"We're rapt for Hoops," said Rennie, who has now selected front-row James Slipper as skipper.

"He's been outstanding both on and off the field since re-entering the environment and he can't wait to pull on the gold jersey again."

Scotland have won their last three Tests against the two-time Rugby World Cup