Scotland vs. New Zealand: Score and Report from Autumn Rugby International
New Zealand were made to dig deep to overcome a dogged Scotland side 24-16 in an entertaining clash at Murrayfield. The result was confirmed by the All Blacks Twitter account:
Tries from Victor Vito and Jeremy Thrush, plus 14 points from the boots of the returning Dan Carter and Colin Slade, gave the All Blacks an expected victory, but Scotland will take heart from a fine performance against a top quality outfit.
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New Zealand skipper Richie McCaw revealed ahead of this match that fixtures with the Scots are always special for him, per BBC Sport:
"I always love coming to Scotland. Both sides of my family come from these parts.
It is going to be a good challenge for us. From our point of view, you can't take anything for granted and have to work for everything you get.
The times I've been here, regardless of what the scorelines have been, physically it's always been a tough old battle.
"
Scotland have a wretched record against the world champions, as noted here by OptaJonny ahead of kick-off:
The early stages were expectedly frantic, with some aggressive defending from the Scots preventing the All Blacks from accruing any early rhythm. But it didn’t take long for the class of the visitors to shine through, as Vito sold an excellent dummy before surging his way through two tackles and touching down; Carter was unable to add the extra points from out wide.
Usually, an early score would settle New Zealand, but in this instance they seemed to take their foot off the gas. McCaw threw an uncharacteristically loose pass and Scotland's No. 11 Tommy Seymour telegraphed it before running beyond the try-line unchallenged. Skipper Greig Laidlaw added the extra points, and remarkably, Scotland found themselves in front.
Former Scotland player David Sole paid tribute to the centre's prolific instincts:
Ruckin Good Stats provided a summation of the first quarter of the game and how the hosts had done wonderfully well to force their illustrious opponents back:
The New Zealand pressure was always going to come though, and they were denied a try by the video official after setting up camp in the Scotland 22. But they were duly awarded a penalty and Carter—making his first Test start for the national team in over a year—made no mistake. A few minutes later, he added another, putting the tourists 11-7 in front.
Scotland responded with a penalty from Laidlaw, but as the half drew on they started to lose the zip from their play. Subsequently, the All Blacks began forcing mistakes. On the stroke of half-time, the home side collapsed a scrum in their own half and Carter stepped up to push New Zealand into a 14-10 lead at the interval.
Nonetheless, former Scotland full-back Gavin Hastings was impressed with his nation's display in the opening 40 minutes, per BBC Sport:
"You look at New Zealand's points and they have come from Scotland mistakes. That's what New Zealand do—force teams into errors and take advantage.
Vern Cotter will really be impressing on Scotland's players at half-time that they have to be committed to every single tackle and do everything right in the second half.
"
In the early stages of the second period there was little sign of the Scots' intensity yielding, and after the concession of an All Blacks penalty they were back within one point of the world champions.
It appeared the visitors would suddenly click into gear at Murrayfield, but with New Zealand's array of attacking talent nullified there wasn't much separating the two teams. Scotland were more than holding their own, and as the clock ticked past 60 minutes, their unshakable intensity didn't seem to be tailing off.
But there were still a few errors creeping into the Scots' play, and they conceded a penalty which Slade slotted. Infuriatingly for the visitors, though, they conceded a penalty of their own, with which Laidlaw made no mistake, moving the score on to 17-16 in favour of the All Blacks.
The Scotland skipper had been excellent throughout the match, and when New Zealand conceded another penalty there was a brilliant chance for him to move his team in front with 10 minutes remaining. But he pulled it to the right, and the All Blacks were off the hook. Unfortunately for the Murrayfield crowd, it was to prove a crucial lapse.
The All Blacks pushed forward and conjured some excellent territory, and with Scotland clinging on to their own try-line it was left to Thrush to eventually power in. Slade added the conversion to make the score 24-16 to New Zealand, and with the clock ticking down, Scotland's effort was in vain, as the visitors negotiated the remaining minutes to take a hard-fought victory.
New Zealand were caught a little off-guard in the early stages by this capable Scottish outfit, but they recovered well to do a professional job. It's two wins from two difficult venues on this tour now, and although neither performance has seen the All Blacks at their scintillating best, this team are making all the right noises with the 2015 World Cup on the horizon.
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