MATCH REPORT: SCOTLAND VS NEW ZEALAND
Written by: William Brown / Rugby 15
New Zealand held on to their unbeaten record on their end-of-year tour of the northern hemisphere by beating a brave Scottish outfit by 24-16 at BT Murrayfield, after leading 14-10 at half time.
The first half was not the type of open, running rugby anticipated by all and sundry. Both teams showed willingness to move the ball wide, but various opportunities were wasted through countless handling errors.
Scotland proved valiant opponents and made matters tough for the visitors especially in the lineouts and at the breakdown points.
New Zealand were first to put points on the board when the Scottish defence proved sparse as the world champions moved the ball wide. Number eight Victor Vito rounded off a lovely move with a barging 40m run to go in at the corner. A slightly out-of-sorts Daniel Carter missed the conversion.
The Murrayfield crowd were on their feet soon after when the All Blacks once again tried to move the ball wide. An errant pass by skipper Richie McCaw was intercepted by left wing Tommy Seymour who crossed the whitewash without a finger being laid upon him. GreigLaidlaw converted to give the Scots a 7-5 lead.
The rest of the first half saw the home team successfully disrupt the All Blacks’ normal fluid game. The only points came through three penalties to Daniel Carter, and one by skipper Greig Laidlaw for the locals. Half-time came with the visitors enjoying a 14-10 lead.
The Scots started the second half brightly and were unfortunate not to score. They were awarded a penalty for All Black offside play, and Laidlaw was on target to reduce the Kiwi lead to one point (13-14).
The visitors threw their all into attack immediately, and were thwarted only by a multitude of handling errors. They pinned the home team in their own 22m area, and one sensed that the desperate Scots were leading to their own downfall by continuously trying to run the ball from behind the gain line. Resolute defence, however, kept the Scottish tryline intact. The territorial dominance that the Kiwi’s were enjoying had to bring rewards, and this came in the form of a penalty following a collapsed scrum. Colin Slade gave New Zealand a 17-13 lead with 15 minutes to play.
The Scots clawed it back at the restart though, through a Greig Laidlaw penalty which reduced the lead to one point (17-16). This seemed to spur the home team on, and their best period of attacking play followed with especially Sean Lamont prominent. The All Blacks were penalised for offside play, but Laidlaw’s attempt to give them the lead was wayward.
The visitors soon poured onto the attack again, and good linking by forwards and backs saw them turn the continuous pressure into points when lock Jeremy Thrush barged over. Slade converted to give the world champions a 24-16 lead with five minutes to play.
The final score does not reflect how close a contest it really was. The All Blacks hardly got out of third gear, but then one has to give credit to the valiant home team for not allowing their much-vaunted visitors to dominate matters.
Scotland, although they failed to record their first ever victory over New Zealand, will take much heart from their performance. Laidlaw’s men were brave throughout and deserve the plaudits for the way they were in contention for all of 75 minutes of the contest.
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