Scotland 3 New Zealand 49:SO, NO new dawn for Scotland. Instead, their supporters would have lingered under the duvet yesterday morning, hoping this record home defeat by New Zealand was a nightmare.
The optimism north of the border following a win in Dublin and a series victory in Argentina has disappeared into a black hole.
The All Blacks are the cold-eyed killers of the game but nobody, least all the 56,807 supporters packed into Murrayfield, expected Scotland to be stags at bay. On the night of Audley Harrison’s capitulation, Andy Robinson’s side failed to land any meaningful blows. The coach pulled no punches. “We have let the nation down,” he said.
Robinson has a major task to restore morale before the Springboks swagger into Edinburgh this week. It will not be easy. The game was effectively over by the time Hosea Gear slipped into overdrive for his second and the fourth of New Zealand’s seven tries with 25 minutes gone.
A calamitous evening was capped with the distressing sight of Max Evans receiving attention and referee Dave Pearson whistling for time with more than a minute left on the clock to allow Evans to have prolonged treatment. The centre’s brother Thom, who had retired from rugby after suffering a neck injury against Wales last season, was looking on.
Thankfully, Max’s injury was later described as a “stinger” to the shoulder.
He and captain Mike Blair are unlikely to recover for the South Africa game. Blair tottered from the field after a sickening clash of heads with an All Black forward just before the break.
Robinson admitted his side had been unable to match the physicality of the All Blacks, had dropped off too many tackles and had lacked a cutting edge. He had picked two 6ft 8in locks, the Glasgow debutant Richie Gray and Gloucester’s Jim Hamilton who, standing on each other’s shoulders, could look the Scott Monument in the eye.
But New Zealand countered this by hardly conceding a lineout. Instead the game was a succession of scrums – when the All Blacks were not scoring tries.
Sonny Billy Williams, in his second Test, was chief hammer of the Scots. The former league man’s deft touches and muscularity were too much for Scotland as he displayed skills rarely seen when he played in Toulon.
“Williams has everything. It’s fantastic he’s in our sport,” said Robinson. “There will be a lot of harsh words said, but we’ll get through it and we’ll build the confidence ready for next week.
“They’ll sit and watch the whole game a few times before Monday. Everybody will be challenged on what they’ve done. The whole 22 have got to look at themselves and so have I. We’ve got to work out what is right and what we’ve got to do to put it right next week.
“We’ll commit to it and we’ll sort it out. Whatever the scoreline, we’ve lost a game of rugby and we’ve lost to an outstanding team. The main thing for me is what we do next week. They scored seven tries – I believe seven tries at this level we should be able to stop.
“We have to be able to do that against a South African side that’s won two out of two on this trip.”
The All Blacks now travel to Dublin, a grand slam tour inevitable.
Guardian Service
SCOTLAND: Southwell; R Lamont, Evans, Morrison, S Lamont; Parks, Blair; Jacobsen, Ford, Murray, Gray, Hamilton, Brown, Vernon, Barclay. Replacements: Walker for R Lamont (40 mins), Jackson for Parks (67 mins), Laidlaw for Blair (38 mins), S Lawson for Ford (65 mins), Dickinson for Murray (65 mins), Hines for Hamilton (40 mins), Rennie for Brown (65 mins).
NEW ZEALAND: Muliaina; Toeava, Smith, Williams, Gear; Carter, Cowan; Woodcock, Elliot, O. Franks, Thorn, Whitelock, Messam, McCaw, Read. Replacements: Donald for Carter (51 mins), Ellis for Cowan (58 mins), Hore for Elliot (61 mins), Afoa for O Franks (54 mins), Boric for Thorn (57 mins), Braid for McCaw (57 mins).
Referee: Dave Pearson(RFU).
