All Blacks v Scotland: Dave Rennie’s side hold Scotland scoreless in second half for commanding Murrayfield win
By Liam Napier at Murrayfield
The sun peeked through Edinburgh clouds long enough just before kickoff at Murrayfield to offer a ray of hope that this could be Scotland’s breakthrough day against the All Blacks.
For a fleeting time in the first half, while the All Blacks conceded two yellow cards, Scotland closed within range and dared to dream.
Come the second half, though, normal service resumed as the free-wheeling All Blacks turned to their scrum platform to reassert their dominance and extend their 121-year, 34-test unbeaten record against Scotland with a 43-21 win.
In an emotional occasion, the All Blacks paid tribute to Logan Cadwallader, their head of security and former Special Air Service regiment soldier who died suddenly in Edinburgh last Sunday, by wearing black armbands and etching his initials and military number into their white shirt.
Cadwallader’s brother and son, Trey, linked arm-and-arm with captain Codie Taylor as the All Blacks sang the New Zealand anthem – and the bench then joined in performing the Ka Mate haka from the sideline.
In an entertaining, eventful match between two teams with similar attacking ambition, the All Blacks honoured Cadwallader by securing a result befitting his service.
The All Blacks were far from perfect. Their ball skills weren’t always slick. Discipline will be a major focus for improvement and defensively they were exposed at times, but they summoned composure to ride through that adversity and emerge with a bonus-point victory that maintains their quest for the inaugural Nations Championship final.
The Springboks’ thumping Italy 66-7 doesn’t help the All Blacks’ cause to reel in the world champions, but anything can transpire over the next two weeks.
Ironically, after their crippling issues in South Africa, the All Blacks’ scrum propelled their dominant second half performance.
It was notable, too, that the scrum weakened after Newell’s departure.
Knocking off Scotland at Murrayfield with relative ease, scoring seven tries to three, is a greater achievement than many will recognise.
Scotland were unbeaten at home this season after defeating France, England and Fiji.
While they were competitive when the All Blacks lost players to the bin, Scotland were no match for the full-strength All Blacks.
In their last four cracks, Scotland had lost by no more than eight points against the All Blacks.
By the finish this time, though, they were a distant second best.
Such a scoreline signals that the All Blacks are a different beast from this time last year when they needed a miracle try from Damian McKenzie to escape their first defeat at Murrayfield.
Failing to muster a second-half point should spark concern for Scotland coach Gregor Townsend.
When they had their full complement the All Blacks made scoring look easy. They created four first-half tries – some through forward power, others by offloading and creating space on the edge – to underline their strike threats.
Once they got within range, the All Blacks ruthlessly converted.
Leading 17-7, the All Blacks were well placed to kick clear. Scotland, though, didn’t roll over.
As Scotland gradually worked their way back into the contest, ill-discipline proved costly for the All Blacks.
Defensively the All Blacks were broken too easily at times, missing 18 first-half tackles. That forced them to scramble – and they got on the wrong side of Irish referee Andrew Brace.
Under pressure, the All Blacks conceded a string of penalties which resulted in Peter Lakai and Wallace Sititi copping yellow cards.
Their absences forced the All Blacks from a supremely dominant position into survival mode.
Scotland seized their numerical advantage to strike as hooker Ewan Ashman bagged three tries – two from mauls – to become the second non-Australian or South African to score a hat-trick against the All Blacks, after Welshman Tom Rogers in 2025.
With their backs to the wall, briefly reduced to 13 men, the All Blacks repelled one maul on their line and, with Quinn Tupaea slotting on to the side of the scrum, won a penalty to ease the danger.
The second half was a contrasting story, though, as the All Blacks regained control.
Losing Will Jordan early in the second half to what appeared to be a recurrence of his hamstring issue, and with Jordie Barrett departing following a nasty head-to-shoulder collision, casts concerns over this victory.
But with the All Blacks expected to widely rotate for Wales in Cardiff next week, Jordan and Barrett have time to recover before the next serious challenge of England at Twickenham.
All Blacks 43 (Beauden Barrett 2, Wallace Sititi, Ethan de Groot, Peter Lakai, Josh Moorby, Asafo Aumua tries; Damian McKenzie 4 cons)
Scotland 21 (Ewan Ashman 3 tries; Finn Russell 3 cons)
HT: 24-21
Liam Napier is a Senior Sports Journalist and Rugby Correspondent for the New Zealand Herald. He is a co-host of the Rugby Direct podcast.
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