Once again, Scotland finds itself agonizingly close to toppling the formidable New Zealand rugby team, only to fall short at the final hurdle. This pattern of near-victories against the All Blacks has become all too familiar for the Scots, leaving a trail of frustration in its wake.
The match took on a wild and unpredictable nature as Scotland managed to claw back from an early deficit, leveling the score at 17-17 with just 20 minutes remaining. At that moment, victory seemed tantalizingly within reach.
However, hope turned to heartbreak when Darcy Graham had the ball stripped from his grasp right as he appeared poised to score a decisive try that would have put Scotland in the lead.
In a dramatic twist, it was New Zealand’s Damian McKenzie who delivered a crushing blow to Scottish hopes. With only six minutes left on the clock, he executed a remarkable one-handed finish in the corner, reclaiming control for the All Blacks.
Not content with just a try, McKenzie further extended New Zealand’s lead by converting a long-range penalty, pushing their advantage to an insurmountable eight points.
Reflecting on the game, coach Gregor Townsend will undoubtedly lament the defensive lapses in the first half. Allowing a team of New Zealand’s caliber to establish a 17-0 lead was akin to giving golf star Rory McIlroy a head start of six-under par—it was simply too much to overcome.
Darcy Graham is left dejected as Scotland go down fighting against the All Blacks
The winger was so close to putting the hosts ahead but Roigard did enough to force a spill
Scotland should have known that from the game here three years ago, which saw them trail 14-0 after barely 10 minutes.
They repeated that poor start and, whilst they recovered to pull level, that opening period proved costly. Plainly, big teams don’t go missing for 40 minutes.
In its centenary year, Murrayfield so nearly celebrated a victory for the ages. Alas, Scotland blew their big chance. The 120-year wait for a victory in this fixture goes on.
Whilst Scotland will rightly take a lot of credit for a thunderous fightback in the second half, they should not escape criticism for some of the mistakes they made in the first half.
There was also the fact that New Zealand had three yellow cards, and they actually scored their second try shortly before half-time whilst down to 14 men. From Scotland’s point of view, that was criminal.
If they are to finally start beating the game’s true heavyweights, they can’t continue to operate in such a Jekyll and Hyde fashion, lurching from slack to sublime so dramatically.
They now face Argentina next weekend and Townsend will not need to be reminded of the importance of that match if this autumn campaign is to be viewed as a success.
There was a minute’s silence prior to kick-off in honour of Remembrance Day, with the All Blacks then getting themselves into formation to perform the Haka.
The Scotland players stood arm in arm to face it head-on and the crowd roared in support. The noise eventually quietened down and the piercing shriek of the All Black players echoed around the stadium.
McKenzie manages to shake off Blair Kinghorn and George Turner for the game-defining try
It didn’t take long for them to find their rhythm. With only three minutes on the clock, they drove a bus through the middle of Scotland’s defence and scored the opening try.
It was Josh Lord who made the initial break, the big lock picking up from the base of a ruck and charging straight through the centre unchallenged.
Carrying the ball in one hand and looking for the offload, he eventually popped it off for scrum-half Cam Roigard to score, with Beauden Barrett slotting the conversion.
The All Blacks were clearly in the mood. Lord’s break was emblematic of their attack in the early stages, forcing Scotland back and offloading for fun.
Scotland’s attack only really flickered in flashes and glimpses. The sight of Finn Russell having his knee heavily strapped did nothing to inspire confidence.
New Zealand had a sustained period of pressure and looked certain to score a second try, only for centre Quinn Tupaea to eventually spill the ball just short of the line.
Russell’s kicking from hand looked like it could well be Scotland’s best weapon, with a pinpoint 50-22 giving Scotland a great attacking platform deep inside the All Black 22.
That initially came to nothing, but moments later, a great burst of pace and offload from Blair Kinghorn allowed Graham to hurtle towards the line, only to be held up.
Graham then made a poor decision to try and run the ball from deep inside his own 22, only to be bundled into touch to hand the All Blacks great field position from which to launch another attack.
A penalty from Barrett eventually put them 10-0 up, but they were reduced to 14 players when winger Leroy Carter was sent to the sin bin for a crude trip on Graham as the little Scotland winger broke through.
Scotland were held up over the line for a second time when Rory Hutchinson looked like he had scored. They were letting the visitors off the hook.
The opposite was true of New Zealand, who ruthlessly punished another Scotland error just before half-time when Wallace Sititi just waltzed past Graham out wide and exposed a huge gap in the home defence.
Roigard got New Zealand up and running early on at Murrayfield
Kyle Steyn justified his selection with a try of his own for Scotland
He fed the ball for full-back Will Jordan to score and Barrett converted the try to give the All Blacks a commanding 17-0 lead at half-time.
At that point, you feared for Scotland. If they weren’t careful, this could have gotten messy and turned into a real hiding.
But they were a team utterly transformed after the break. The fightback started on 46 minutes when a Scotland maul rumbled towards the line and hooker Ewan Ashman powered over.
Russell converted and New Zealand skipper Ardie Savea was shown a yellow card for attempting to bring down the maul.
Suddenly, Murrayfield a renewed sense of belief coursed through the veins of Murrayfield. Five minutes later, Scotland scored again.
After winning a penalty and kicking deep into the All Black 22, Scotland built pressure and went through the phases, with Kinghorn eventually firing the ball wide for Kyle Steyn to score. Once again, Russell converted.
The All Blacks looked like their minds had been scrambled amid the madness of it all. Scotland were rampant and almost scored a third when Graham agonisingly dropped the ball as he reached out one-handed to touch the ball down in the corner.
A penalty from Russell drew the Scots level at 17-17. With the All Blacks then losing another player when Sititi was sin-binned, Scotland had a numerical advantage.
There were 20 minutes to go and history beckoned. No one could have foreseen such a collapse from the mighty All Blacks. Never would Scotland get a better chance than this to finally beat them.
It was a chance they would ultimately squander. With 74 minutes on the clock, New Zealand finally roused themselves to pin Scotland back with a 50-22 of their own.
They had barely been in Scotland’s half of the field for what felt like an eternity. But a lineout eventually saw them work the ball wide to McKenzie, who had come on just after half-time.
Ben White celebrates Ewan Ashman’s try that got Scotland on the scoreboard
He still had plenty to do, but he shrugged off the attention of Kinghorn and George Turner, contorting his body and touching the ball down whilst his back was facing the try line.
It was a stunning finish and a dagger to Scottish hearts. McKenzie skied his conversion, but then boomed a penalty between the posts moments later to put the matter beyond doubt.
When the full-time whistle was blown and the crowds poured out of Murrayfield, it felt like a movie we had seen all too often against the All Blacks.
Deja Blue.
