Scotland vs. New Zealand All Blacks: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview
Vern Cotter will be all too aware of the threat descending upon his Scottish outfit on Saturday, the All Blacks having had to ride a wave of pressure to emerge as 24-21 victors against England at Twickenham.
However, Scotland ran in five tries to manage an impressive display of their own against Argentina last time out, handing Daniel Hourcade's tourists a 41-31 defeat in Edinburgh.
The underdog role is one the Scots are more than accustomed to taking on, so they'll relish the visit of the most dangerous team in world rugby ready as both sides hope to maintain winning autumn records.
Date:ย Saturday, Nov. 15
Time:ย 5:30ย p.m. GMT/12:30 p.m. ET
Live Stream:ย BBC Sport websiteย (UK),ย SuperSport streamย (SA)
TV Info:ย BBC Twoย (UK),ย SuperSport 1 (SA)
Key Players toย Watch
Scotland: Greig Laidlaw
Greig Laidlaw said last week's display against the Pumas was "up there with my best in a Scotland jersey," where a fast and flowing pace in attack led to a much more clinical outcome with ball in hand.
Talking to BBC Sport, the scrum-half admitted Scotland are "under no illusions" about the awesome power of their New Zealand rivals but adds his team have some tricks up their sleeves, too:
"We in the Scotland team know how hard it is to go down to Twickenham and win. We are under no illusions.ย But we have had a look at the tapes and come up with some things that can help us.ย Hopefully that might do the trick. We will wait and see.
We have to be ready for whatever is thrown at us but we also have to be ready to have a go at them as well.ย We have to try and put the All Blacks under pressure when we can.
"
Laidlaw is as important as any player in the Scotland squad. As well as dictating attacking line speed, it will also be his boot that decides whether any kicking opportunities bear fruit.
The Gloucester man kicked 14 points against Argentina last weekend to go hand-in-hand with his three try assists, per ESPN Scrum, and decision-making at penalty time will be of great significance.
That's thanks to Cotter's injection of a more positive approach with ball in hand, opting for natural, reactive ball running. Laidlaw's day against New Zealand will be a long one, but he will hope he can get Scotland's attack firing.
New Zealand: Dan Carter
From one half-back representative to another, Dan Carter is readying himself for his first New Zealand start in a year as one of 13 changes in Steve Hansen's line-up, per theย Independent:
It was thought the fly-half could clinch the No. 10 jersey against England last Saturday, but the test of Scotland makes for a more natural route back into the international game.
That's not to say the Scots will be an easy task, with a host of mobile forwards likely to be quick in testing just how swift Carter can be when organising their rush defence.
It's nothing the Canterbury bastion hasn't come up against before, but some questions do linger as to what shape Carter is in. At 32 years of age, it's inevitable that the decline begins to settle in, but at what stage of the regression is Hansen's veteran playmaker in?
