For sheer bloody-minded, backs-to-the-wall determination when the odds have been stacked against them, it is hard to beat this display by Scotland.
Counted out after their worst Rugby World Cup, followed by a whitewash in the RBS Six Nations Championship, they travelled to Australia and produced one of those defensive efforts that go down in history, winning with a penalty won and kicked after the 80 minutes had been completed.
True, they were helped by the storm that rolled into town a couple of hours before the game and hit full intensity during the match, the wind gusting up to 80mph as the rain lashed down, but as Ross Ford, the captain, pointed out, conditions were the same for both sides.
The hero of the hour was Greig Laidlaw, the fly half, who, with the clock already past the 80-minute mark, stepped up to take the penalty that he knew would make the difference between a battling draw and a famous win.
It was never in doubt. Even though he was kicking straight into the teeth of the wind, he struck the ball sweetly and it sailed between the posts to break the deadlock that had settled over the game for the previous 40 minutes.
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The real credit, however, must go to the forwards, and in particular the back row.
Andy Robinson, the head coach, singled out Alasdair Strokosch, the flanker, as his personal man of the match, but the award could have gone to any of the trio without quibble.
In all, 35 minutes of the second half were played in Scotland’s 22, most of that time less than ten yards from the line. When Australia did get the ball over the line, the visiting team swarmed round it in such numbers that there was no way any official — with all the technology on the planet — could see whether it had been grounded.
For Robinson, it was personal vindication and almost certainly lifts the pressure that was building on him after seven consecutive defeats.
In the time that he has been in charge, Scotland have played all three of the leading southern-hemisphere nations, beaten South Africa, beaten Australia home and away and lost only to New Zealand. He is also the first Scotland coach to have won a series in Argentina; but, at the same time, the his side have won only two out of 15 Six Nations games. It is a strange record.
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“I have always had belief in the players,” Robinson said. “I have done a lot of analysis on the games. What has been obvious is that we have undermined our own performances and in this game we didn’t.
“Our tackling was phenomenal and when they did get a couple of sniffs, we stopped them. That was what was missing during the Six Nations, in which we conceded tries too easily.
“The scoreboard built the pressure on Australia. They wanted to get ahead early. They missed a number of opportunities and when they did that, the belief in our team grew.
“That was a better performance than we produced against them in 2009 [when Scotland won 9-8] because they made four line breaks then and made none in this match. They didn’t create chances in this game, and that was the difference.”
The storm may have acted as a leveller, but Australia had chances to win and if they didn’t take them, no one in the Scotland camp was complaining. Even when Scotland turned round at half-time leading 6-3, two penalties by Laidlaw against one from Mike Harris, the debutant Wallaby centre, the smart money was still on a comfortable home win.
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When Harris landed the kick that levelled matters two minutes into the second half, that looked even more likely, but this was also when the Scotland defence started to come into its own. With all the possession and territory, Australia were restricted to two long-range kicks at goal, one from Harris and one from Berrick Barnes, the fly half, who also missed with a dropped-goal attempt.
So it was all set for the final drama. Scotland won the ball and for the first time in the half managed to clear their line, get play up into the Australia half and allow Laidlaw to make a little break that carried play to the home 22.
The scrum went down; Scotland appealed for a penalty but were ordered to re-scrum. It went down again; this time the penalty appeal was successful, and up stepped Laidlaw to send his team into raptures and the home fans home in a mood to match the weather.
*The post-match celebrations were marked by a clash of heads between Alasdair Strokosch and Joe Ansbro. Both left the field with blood pouring from their heads but the incident did little to dampen the mood. Watch the clash in the tab above.
Scorers: Australia: Penalty goals: Harris (32, 42, 80+2); Scotland: Penalty goals: Laidlaw (23, 28)
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Scoring sequence (Australia first): 0-3, 0-6, 3-6 (half time), 6-6, 6-9.
Australia: L Morahan (Queensland Reds); D Ioane (Queensland Reds), A Fainga’a (Queensland Reds), M Harris (Queensland Reds), J Tomane(ACT Brumbies); B Barnes (NSW Waratahs), W Genia (Queensland Reds); J Slipper (Queensland Reds), S Moore (ACT Brumbies), D Palmer (ACT Brumbies, rep: B Alexander, ACT Brumbies, 70), S Timani (NSW Waratahs, rep: R Simmons, Queensland Reds, 55), N Sharpe (Western Force), D Dennis (NSW Waratahs, rep: M Hooper, ACT Brumbies, 66), D Pocock (C)(Western Force), S Higginbotham (Queensland Reds).
Scotland: S Hogg (Glasgow); S Lamont (Scarlets rep: T Brown, Edinburgh, 38), N De Luca (Edinburgh), M Scott (Edinburgh), J Ansbro (London Irish); G Laidlaw (Edinburgh), M Blair (Edinburgh, rep: C Cusiter, Glasgow, 64), R Grant (Glasgow), R Ford (C) (Glasgow), E Murray (Newcastle), A Kellock (Glasgow), R Gray (Glasgow), A Strokosch (Gloucester), R Rennie (Edinburgh), J Barclay (Glasgow).
Referee: J Peyper (South Africa), Attendance: 20,088