It was 27 long, long years for Scotland fans, but on this day in 2009, the Murrayfield faithful were finally treated to a victory over Australia.

In 1982, a 12-7 win in Brisbane didn't come as a huge surprise in the sport, but it was Australia who quickly became a force on the world stage after that loss, while Scotland would slip further behind their rivals.

Many men had tried and failed before Andy Robinson guided Scotland to a famous triumph over the Wallabies in a match which will forever be remembered for some outstanding defensive play from both teams.

Robinson's side had beaten Fiji just a week earlier, but very few expected the hosts to offer much resistance against Australia, who had won the past 16 meetings between the two sides.

Fly-half Matt Giteau handed Australia an early lead with a penalty in the fifth, but it was his three missed penalties and a wayward conversion which would eventually prove to be crucial.

Scotland were forced onto the back foot for long spells of the first half, before Phil Godman finally levelled the score at 3-3 heading into the interval.

Giteau missed one of his penalties and a drop goal before the break, and his poor run continued early in the second half when he struck an effort wide of the posts once again.

Godman had followed Giteau's example by missing a penalty of his own, but he quickly made up for his error by giving Scotland the lead with a perfect kick from a difficult angle.

Despite dominating for possession throughout the match, Australia lacked a cutting edge which had become their trademark over the years, with Quade Cooper's unforgivable forward pass to Drew Mitchell in a two-on-one overlap situation costing the visitors dearly.

Scotland piled the misery on Cooper moments later by making it 9-3 through Chris Paterson, who held his nerve impressively to extend the home side's lead with a drop goal.

Australia refused to allow the game slip away without a fight, though, and they appeared on course to break Scottish hearts in the final moments of a thrilling encounter when Ryan Cross scored the first try of the game.

Giteau was left with a tricky conversion attempt to secure the win, but he was unable to kick the visitors to victory as Murrayfield erupted at the final whistle.

"That was the most courageous performance that I have ever been involved with," Robinson admitted moments after the 9-8 win was confirmed.

Robinson was right. It was one of the finest displays ever produced by a Scottish team, and the victory will surely never be forgotten by those who arrived at Murrayfield in hope, rather than expectation, five years ago.