It was the same old story for Scotland against New Zealand as they succumbed to another defeat at Murrayfield.
The All Blacks extended their undefeated record to 34 games and Gregor Townsend's men never truly looked like ending their winless run.
Unforced errors and ill-discipline proved costly as New Zealand scored 19 unanswered points in the second half to secure a 43-21 win in the Nations Championship.
Some players performed well, while others endured an off-day. Here's our assessment of the display.
15. Kyle Rowe - 7
Fully justified his selection. Rowe deserved an opportunity to start a big game for Scotland and he played well. The highlight was a wonderful 50:22 early on, which resulted in the opening try. A lovely offload from the floor to Rory Darge was also pivotal to the second try, and he was good under the high ball. Harsh to be taken off.
14. Kyle Steyn - 5
Will endure a sleepless night after missing a relatively easy pass that would have resulted in a try. He allowed himself to be distracted by Beauden Barrett, and the try would have made it a one-score game.
Overall, Steyn was thwarted as an attacking force by the All Blacks and wasn't as dominant as usual aerially.
Kyle Steyn (Image: Mark Runnacles / Shutterstock)
13. Huw Jones - 7
Alongside Rowe, Jones was the pick of the backs and showcased what he can offer with three trademark line breaks - the most of any Scotland player. The Toulon star led both teams for metres carried (75) and he was unfortunate not to score when held up. Deserves to keep the 13 shirt.
12. Sione Tuipulotu - 6
Tuipulotu is a world-class centre but he wasn't firing on all cylinders against the All Blacks. His partnership with Russell wasn't as slick as usual. He led the way in terms of carries with 17, but his trademark breaks were limited.
Tuipulotu will be honest enough to be critical of his performance and acknowledge the quality of the world-class opposition. Sin-binned at a crucial time for offside, which seemed harsh.
11. Jamie Dobie - 4
Realistically, Dobie hasn't proven that he's an elite international winger against top opposition.
In fairness, wing isn't the Glasgow Warriors star's preferred position, although he's been excellent there for his club.
Dobie was taught a lesson in wing play by Will Jordan and was underwhelming throughout. That wing spot is up for grabs and Dobie deserves a shot at nine.
10. Finn Russell - 5
Well off his scintillating best and no surprise that he was replaced. Russell has been Scotland's talisman but his sub-par display was littered with errors. The Bath fly-half started shakily with two poor kicks and never really recovered. Russell threw sublime passes when Scotland had the momentum, especially two to Jones, but his game management was poor.
9. Ben White - 6
Cam Roigard had the upper hand in the scrum-half battle but White was restricted by Scotland's pack being dominated, especially up front. The Toulon star put in a massive hit on Will Jordan early on and also produced an immense defensive effort to hold up a try. His decision to kick on the stroke of half-time was poor as Scotland should've kept the ball in play.
Read more:
1. Rory Sutherland - 4
It was a bizarre decision to start Sutherland and it seemed pre-planned to withdraw him after half an hour. Sutherland is a superior scrummager to Pierre Schoeman but, ironically, there were no scrums before he was replaced. Strange all round.
Pierre Shoeman replaced Rory Sutherland in the first halfc (Image: Mark Runnacles / Shutterstock)
2. Ewan Ashman - 8
An incredible achievement to become the first Scot to score a hat-trick against the All Blacks. Ashman is a devastating ball-carrier and he finished brilliantly for his second try. He rarely fails to get over the gain line and his line-out throwing was solid, an area for which he's often criticised. Can be proud of his display.
3. Zander Fagerson - 6
Put in a massive defensive effort in the first half, when he led the way with 11 tackles, but was subdued after the break. The drop-off between Fagerson and his deputies is arguably the biggest in the squad and that leads to him staying on too long. New Zealand were dominant at the scrum and Fagerson must take some responsibility.
4. Gregor Brown - 8
Excellent. Brown's development across the last two years has been tremendous and he's proved himself at elite international level. He had the second highest carries for Scotland with 17 and also ranked second for tackles with 17. His work rate was outstanding and he won a turnover, with his versatility evident when he switched to the back row.
Read more:
5. Scott Cummings - 6
Cummings is the organiser of Scotland's maul and it was one of the rare positives of a disappointing afternoon, as it resulted in two tries. It's difficult to be too analytical about his display as he wasn't overly involved in the loose. The lineout worked fairly well and the one decisive scrum that went awry at the start of the second half was due to a stray throw.
6. Matt Fagerson - 6
There was an excellent recovery run to collect the ball under pressure in his own 22 but it was a pretty subdued display besides that. Fagerson worked tirelessly but New Zealand's back row was far superior. Moved to number eight after Dempsey's withdrawal and it will be fascinating to see if he continues there next week.
7. Rory Darge - 7
Phenomenal work rate as always but failed to truly make an impact at the breakdown with his famed jackaling. Darge's work often goes unnoticed on initial viewing but he made more tackles than any other player on the pitch (19). Persevered in the second half despite Scotland being completely dominated and will retain his place next week. In the best form of his career and probably Scotland's best forward now
8. Jack Dempsey - 6
Dempsey has been a colossus for Scotland in recent years but he appeared undercooked. It's no wonder that he looked short of match sharpness as he's not played a competitive game in Japan. Dempsey will be Scotland's starting number eight at the World Cup but Townsend might look beyond him over the next couple of weeks as he won't play in the Six Nations.
Replacements:
Pierre Schoeman was introduced just after the half-hour mark in a pre-planned move but the decision backfired. He was immediately penalised at his first scrum for standing up and he struggled at the set-piece. None of Scotland's replacements particularly stood out but Josh Bayliss was arguably the pick of the bunch.
Share