Against the USA, the Scots were ruthless, doing what needed to be done and doing it well. It was a strong hit-out for the handful of players who will be involved next Saturday and a brilliant experience for those who won’t be, like Liam McConnell, the rough diamond at six, who excelled on his debut. Only 21, it’s going to be fun watching McConnell mature. His raw talent is terrific.
For the All Blacks, the biggest dogs will reappear. One hundred and twenty years ago Scotland faced New Zealand for the first time and, of course, they still haven’t beaten them. That’s 30 defeats and two draws. The last three losses in that sequence are probably the most painful of the lot.
In 2014, with Vern Cotter in charge, Scotland trailed by just one point with seven minutes to go, but succumbed to a 31-23 defeat.
Three years later was harder to take. A plague had descended on Scotland’s loosehead props that autumn. Alasdair Dickinson, Allan Dell and Rory Sutherland were all injured. In came the unknown Darryl Marfo.
Gregor Townsend’s team had a ton of in-game injuries. Stuart McInally, the hooker, had a spell at openside. Then, George Turner, the replacement hooker, had a spell at openside, too.
The look on Townsend’s face after the game is still vivid. Dejection and disguised fury. Scotland trailed 22-10 with eight minutes left. The All Blacks were down to 14 men. Then, Kieran Read stopped a near-certain try with an act of chicanery that eluded referee Matthew Carley.
Scotland should have had a try and Read should have been off. It should have been a five-point game against 13 men for the remaining minutes of the contest. New Zealand escaped.
We don’t relive the torment just for the laugh. These near-misses are there to remind everybody how savagely difficult it is to beat the All Blacks. The most recent defeat is, arguably, the most instructive of the lot.
It was the night Doddie Weir brought out the match ball with his three sons, a moment that’s every bit as moving now, three years on, as it was then.
Scotland trailed by 14 points early in that game and then led by nine. They scored 23 unanswered points in 52 minutes against the All Blacks. Unprecedented. Then they lost their composure, gave away penalties, picked up a yellow card and lost the Test.
It was agonising and it was typical. The All Blacks had been out-played for large periods but when the chips were down they stayed calm and turned the screw, millimetre by millimetre.
It’s what they did to Ireland on Saturday night. A decisive last 20 minutes won it. Their bench had huge impact, creatively and physically.
