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Below Par All Blacks Barely Avoid Scotland Defeat

Question marks remain over a host of fringe All Blacks players after a disappointing performance against a brave Scotland side at Murrayfield on the weekend.  Barring a couple of stunt performances from Jeremy Thrush and Charles Piutau, the back-up group failed to take the opportunity to press their claims for starting spots against Wales next week, or longer term, spots in the 2015 World Cup squad.  The skittish effort was full of rust; untidiness; and confusion, and despite assurances from coach Steven Hansen that the side needed a hotly contested match, will have damaged the reputations of some of the All Blacks also-rans.

TJ Peranara, Ryan Crotty, Dominic Bird all failed to shine, and the increasingly fragile Dan Carter returned to action with plenty of kinks that need to be ironed out.   As a result of individual frailties and team inaccuracy, the All Blacks only scraped past the determined Scots, eventually eking out a 24-16 win.  Tries to forwards Victor Vito and Thrush helped the All Blacks cancel out a Tommy Seymour intercept try that had stirred a passionate Murrayfield crowd into daring to believe in a first ever win against the All Blacks.

For all the heart of the Scotland side, there didn’t appear to be a huge chance of upsetting the All Blacks.  The All Blacks superior territorial game near the end, in addition to their powerful bench, meant they were always likely to overpower the improving Scottish side.  They deserve credit, however, for coming within ten points of the All Blacks for the first time since 1991, and unearthing a couple of future stars in the locking Gray brothers; Sean Lamont’s cameo was encouraging too.

The one regret for Scotland will be reliable captain Greg Laidlaw’s penalty miss that would have pushed them in front of, and heaped pressure on, the All Blacks with ten minutes to go.  The attempt sailed wide and with it the chances of an unexpected win.

Attempting to go one better than the strong Scotland effort this weekend will be Wales at Millennium Stadium.  To do so Wales will need to find an extra gear from the one they traditionally use against the Southern Hemisphere sides.  We’ll preview that match later this week.

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