First, the bad news. New Zealand were in insuperable, exhilarating form against Wales at the weekend, taking a wrecking ball to their opponents, scoring 55 points and oozing with confidence and class in almost every area.
All the reservations which had been expressed about this All-Black squad during the last couple of years seemed ridiculous as they ruthlessly silenced the crowd at the Principality Stadium with the sort of effervescent elan and energy which we’ve come to associate with teams from the Land of the Long White Cloud.
Even worse news
Now for the worse news. Their next opponents are Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday and, on the basis of what we witnessed in Cardiff from the likes of the coruscating Ardie Savea, Shannon Frizell, Dalton Papali’i and Aaron Smith, the hosts will have to move up several gears to have any chance of ending one of sport’s longest-running records.
Ever since November 1905, when these combatants first locked horns at Inverleith in Edinburgh, the outcome has been wearily predictable. They have met all of 31 times in the last 117 years and the tally stands at 29 wins for New Zealand and a couple of draws in 1964 and 1983. (The former ended 0-0, the latter 25-25).
Scotlands 2022 campaign was a bundle of mediocrity
In short, if Gregor Townsend wants to reduce some of the mounting pressure on his shoulders, he not only needs his team to return to the form they demonstrated 18 months ago – rather than the rag-tag bundle of mediocrity which has summed up their 2022 campaign – but also has to draw a veil over most of the material in the archives.
And, while it isn’t quite mission impossible, there haven’t exactly been a bundle of positives to extract from the Scots’ frustrating loss to Australia and unconvincing victory over Fiji, who might have orchestrated a shock if they had managed to keep 15 men on the pitch for 80 minutes, rather than lose three to the sin bin at different times.
At least common sense has prevailed and Finn Russell has been called up to the squad – though it has only happened because of an injury to Adam Hastings and represents the sort of u-turn from Townsend which has left him looking a bit daft.
Yet, all that matters now is the emphasis being placed on the team’s tactics and attempts to improve on recent showings. We can leave the personality clashes for later.
Because, the reality is that, whenever the Scots have pushed the All Blacks close, they have done it with a talismanic figure at No 10; somebody in the mould of John Rutherford whose brilliance was in display in that nerve-shredding draw.
They also have to prove they can be more streetwise without conceding an absurd number of penalties in the process and escape the lumbering, one-dimensional approach which has made them pretty easy to defend against in recent contests.
Wales were almost out of contention inside the first quarter as they trailed 17-0, so it goes without saying a fast start will be essential once the haka has been performed.
Scotland v New Zealand
But, on the big stage, backed by the exhortations of a sell-out crowd actually focused on what’s occurring on the pitch rather than carrying out annoying Mexican waves, there’s no reason why New Zealand can’t at least be tested this weekend.
Rutherford recalled, of the 1983 tussle: “Make no mistake, the All Blacks were fabulous, and it was a question of clinging on to their coattails, putting points on the board whenever we were in their territory, and basically stopping them playing, which was easier said than done when guys of the calibre of Bernie Fraser (who scored two of his side’s three touchdowns) and Stu Wilson were sparking their magic.
“The thing was, though, that we weren’t intimidated by them. We had a top-class pack and they out-rucked New Zealand throughout the game, which didn’t happen very often. We had powerhouses among the forwards – David Leslie was just immense – and it was as if he was laying down a statement after not being selected for the Lions squad.
“And with people such as Colin Deans, Jim Calder, the Bear (Iain Milne), and Iain Paxton playing their hearts out, we were always in the hunt.
“Some of it wasn’t pretty, but you had to get in their faces. Standing back was not an option for us, because we had seen how these boys had destroyed the Lions (4-0)Â just a few months earlier.”
Took a genius to run the show
The visitors led 16-15 at the interval; such stalwarts as Fraser, Wilson and Robbie Deans were offering their usual impersonation of greased lightning one moment, and Casper the Friendly Ghost the next. Yet, the home support recognised the huge physical effort that their compatriots were displaying and it was as if the players were determined to prove they possessed genuine rugby quality.
By the climax, when Jim Pollock scored a late try, Rutherford honestly thought his side might sneak the spoils, but Peter Dods, who had already landed five penalties, missed the conversion. It was as near as the SRU‘s finest have ever come to beating the Kiwis.
But it took a genius to run the show and while Russell might be no “Rudd”, he’s as close as Scotland have at the moment.
He should never have been dropped in the first place. But now he’s back, and let’s hope he is at the peak of his powers on Sunday.
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