Source: Radio New Zealand
New Zealand’s Damian McKenzie celebrates scoring a try against Scotland. AFP
Analysis – The All Blacks’ unbeaten record against Scotland has remained intact – just . The 25-17 win at Murrayfield was on track to being a brilliant statement, turned into a thrilling spectacle, but ultimately ended up posing a lot of the same questions about Scott Robertson’s All Black side.
One thing is for sure, though. When the Scottish team and their fans wake up tomorrow, their hangovers are going to feel worse than usual, because they absolutely blew it. The All Blacks handed them a one-man advantage for a full half an hour, couldn’t capitalise on their two early tries, then rolled out the welcome mat to the 22 for almost the entire second half.
It was all there for Scotland to break their 120 year duck. But even a brave display from a banged-up Finn Russell, a captain’s knock from Sione Tuipulotu and an absolute glut of possession couldn’t stop them doing what they’ve always done.
Because when it came down to it, they got inside their own heads and fell to bits when they needed it most. Which admittedly does say a bit about the All Blacks, who tapped into the team’s historic ability to ruthlessly exploit even the slightest bit of hesitation. Damian McKenzie’s try didn’t just come off the back of his stunning 50/22, with Ardie Savea’s call to go for a lineout off a subsequent offside penalty a smart, high-percentage play.
As far as smarts go, there’s not much else to report. Josh Lord’s perception to pick and gallop up field to set up Cam Roigard was a good start, while Savea and Peter Lakai’s work at the breakdown was crucial. But the three yellow cards shattered a very good trend for the All Blacks in the back half of the season.
They’d given up six yellow cards in the first five tests, but none since, so this sudden and brainless lapse in discipline is the real talking point once Scotland’s tears are wiped away.
Caleb Clarke attempts to evade Darcy Graham of Scotland. ActionPress
Savea’s yellow felt unavoidable when he pulled down a drive that led to Ewan Ashman’s try, but it ultimately wouldn’t have made any difference, so can’t be classified as a desperate roll of the dice. Besides, Savea shouldn’t be doing anything as skipper and best player on the park to potentially have him leave it.
The other two were just dumb, especially when Leroy Carter didn’t even realise he’d been binned after his foot trip on Darcy Graham. Wallace Sititi fell victim to rugby’s most unpopular law, but that made it four knock down yellow cards this year for the All Blacks, easily the most out of any test side. The most annoying thing is that without the cards, this would be a good news story as the penalty count ended 10-8 in the All Blacks’ favour.
Both sides spent long periods on defence and the All Blacks’ resilience in the second half should be applauded, but it’s hard not to question why they waited till the Scots were 10 metres away from the tryline to start tackling them properly.
McKenzie’s shift off the bench once again proved that the All Blacks are developing some serious problem-solving ability in that area. It’s not the first time he’s been the difference on an end of year tour match, while around him the replacement forwards simply did what they needed to in the game’s critical last 10 minutes.
Fabian Holland looks to offload the ball whilst under pressure during the Scotland v All Blacks match. ActionPress
So there was a bit to like in all of it, plus it’s worth remembering that this tense result and Scotland’s positive performance are very much on brand for this fixture. The last three matches at Murrayfield, two of which involved Steve Hansen’s then-world champion All Blacks, ended with almost identical scorelines.
But given the importance this tour now has for Robertson since he has a chance to close out an up and down season in the right way, the introspection this week needs to be high. There should be plenty of pride to take out of the defensive effort, however the point should be getting hammered home that, after being up 17-0, it never should have come to that in the first place.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand