All Blacks down brave Scots
New Zealand scored a late try to secure a 24-16 win over a brave Scotland team in their one-off international in Edinburgh on Saturday.
It was not till lock Jeremy Thrush went over in the 75th minute that the All Blacks had enough breathing space.
Until then the large Murrayfield crowd held out hope of a first-ever Scottish upset over New Zealand.
But it was not to be. As you have come to expect of them, the Kiwis managed to pull off a win – even with a second-string selection that was not performing at an optimum level.
The scrums were a royal mess from the outset, with referee Romain Poite delivering his usual bag of garbage calls. And Poite was no better at the breakdown, which was a free-for-all.
It did not help Scotland's cause that they deliberately pushed the envelope in the hope of getting a few lucky calls going their way.
The conditions also contributed to a stop-start affair, with both teams guilty of putting the ball down in promising situations.
With the referee, Poite, playing his usual guessing games, New Zealand were awarded a breakdown penalty in the seventh minute – which Dan Carter hooked past the upright.
However, three minutes later Victor Vito – with Poite again applying the breakdown laws liberally – broke through a half-hearted tackle to score the game's opening try, running all of 40 metres. Carter missed the conversion attempt – 5-0.
Tommy Seymour accepted a gift of a pass from Richie McCaw and sprinted about 40 metres, Greig Laidlaw adding the conversion as Scotland grabbed the lead.
After a lengthy period of scrappy play, the Kiwis went close – with the TMO unable to find conclusive evidence of a try.
Poite went back for an earlier penalty and Carter, from almost bang in front, slotted his first kick to reclaim the lead for the visitors, 8-7 to New Zealand after 27 minutes.
Scotland's discipline continued to let them down and in the 31st minute – after a couple of silly penalties – Carter made it 11-7 in the 32nd minute.
Laidlaw pulled three points back in the 36th minute, after Jeremy Thrush was penalised at a ruck – 10-11. However, Carter made it 14-10 with his third successful kick – following a scrum penalty right on the half-time hooter.
Scotland made a bright start to the second half, keeping the ball in hand and working their way into the All Black 22 – where they were rewarded with a penalty. Laidlaw made it a one-point game, 13-14.
Another period of scrappy play ensued, with the error count on both sides climbing at an alarming rate, before another questionable scrum penalty allowed Colin Slade to make it a four-point game in the 65th minute.
However,. from the restart Sam Cane was penalised at the tackle and Laidlaw made it 16-17. He then missed a shot with 10 minutes to go.
That seemed to take puff out of the Scottish game, as the All Blacks upped the tempo and Jeremy Thrush barged over from close range in the 75th minute – after some powerful rushed by the forwards. Slade made it an eight-point game with the conversion – 24-16.
And New Zealand hung on, securing the win, with Scotland left to rue another lost opportunity.
Man of the match: Greig Laidlaw was again central to the Scottish cause, Richie and Jonny Gray were both food value, but Blair Cowan was Scotland's most productive player. You can always look at Richie McCaw to add value. Victor Vito had his moments in his stay and Jeremy Thrush had one of his better games. Malakai Fekitoa was again good value. Julian Savea made a huge impact and produced the spark New Zealand seemed to lack, after coming on in the 55th minute, and he is our man of the match.
Moment of the match: There is no doubt about this one – the Jeremy Thrush try in the 75th minute, which gave the All Blacks the breathing space they required.
Villain of the match: Other than referee Romain Poite's baffling rulings, there was nothing villainous about this match. We'll give Poite a freeby, just this time.
The scorers:
For Scotland:
Try: Seymour
Con: Laidlaw
Pens: Laidlaw 3
For New Zealand:
Tries: Vito, Thrush
Con: Slade
Pens: Carter 3, Slade
Teams:
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (captain), 8 Adam Ashe, 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Dave Denton, 20 Johnnie Beattie, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Sean Lamont.
New Zealand: 15 Ben Smith, 14 Colin Slade, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Charles Piutau, 10 Dan Carter, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Richie McCaw (captain), 5 Dominic Bird, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 James Parsons, 1 Joe Moody.
Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Luke Romano, 20 Liam Messam, 21 Augustine Pulu, 22 Sonny Bill Williams, 23 Julian Savea.
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Johnny Lacey (Ireland), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
TMO: Gareth Simmonds (Wales)
