Scotland failed to score against a dominant New Zealand in a one-sided World Cup encounter at Murrayfield.
The All Blacks ran in tries from captain Richie McCaw, Doug Howlett (2), Byron Kelleher, Ali Williams and Dan Carter against the shell-shocked Scots.

The tournament favourites eased off after the break and failed to capitalise on their superiority as the game petered out.

Frank Hadden's second-string side failed to create anything of note.

Scotland, who had failed to beat the All Blacks in 25 attempts, named 13 changes to the side which defeated Romania - including two new caps.


The Scots struggled to cope with New Zealand's relentless attacks

Only Chris Paterson, who moved to fly-half, and Simon Webster on the wing, were retained from that game.

Scotland coach Frank Hadden, with one eye on the final group game against Italy on 29 September, named a weakened side to face the tournament favourites.

New Zealand welcomed back captain Richie McCaw and fly-half Dan Carter.

Centre Conra Smith, Chris Masoe and lock Ali Williams were the only survivors from the Portugal game.

The All Blacks, wearing light blue and black instead of their famous black shirts, looked razor sharp from kick-off.

McCaw touched down in the fifth minute after collecting a clever inside pass from Rodney So'oialo at the back of the scrum.

Carter kicked his first conversion of the day, as the Scots looked set for a long afternoon.

Paterson looked to reply immediately for the Scots, but his drop-kick missed right of the posts.



Doug Howlett touches down for his 47th try for the All Blacks

The Scots were unable to make any headway into New Zealand territory in the opening quarter.

Doug Howlett had a simple run-in for New Zealand's second try when he took Leon McDonald's pass to score his 47th for the All Blacks.

Carter missed the conversion.

Scotland's frantic defending was struggling to keep the relentless New Zealand attacks at bay.

Hugo Southwell's kick was then charged down as the home fans in the stands groaned.

Carter added a penalty after 24 minutes to make it 15 unanswered points for the All Blacks as the shell-shocked Scots prayed for some respite.

But the All Blacks were showing no mercy and Byron Kelleher got the third try of the first half after Mesoe tenaciously broke through a couple of tackles.

Carter was uncharacteristically poor with the boot as he missed another conversion.

The number 10 added another penalty minutes after the re-start.


Dan Carter had a miserable day with the boot for New Zealand

Carter then saw a penalty rebound off the upright and Howlett failed to capitalise when he looked set to score his second try of the game.

There was controversy after 55 minutes when McCaw passed to Carter for a kick at goal - a decision which did not go down well with the Murrayfield crowd.

Williams raised the try count when he held off three spirited challenges on the right before touching down.

Carter's miserable day with the boot continued, but he offered some cheer when he pounced on Nikki Walker's handling error and sprinted under the posts.

He made no mistake with the conversion as the Scots must have longed for full-time.

The All Blacks offered a glimpse of their best when Howlett raced away from the leg-weary Scots for his second try of the day and 48th for his country.

Carter missed the conversion to ensure the margin of victory did not creep nearer the half century.






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Scotland: Southwell, Walker, Di Rollo, Henderson, Webster, Paterson, Cusiter, Dickinson, Lawson, Smith, MacLeod, Murray (capt), Brown, Callam, Barclay.
Replacements: Thomson, Kerr, Hamilton, Hogg, Lawson, Parks, Dewey.

New Zealand; MacDonald; Howlett, Smith, McAlister, Sivivatu; Carter, Kelleher; Woodcock, Oliver, Hayman, Thorne, Williams, Masoe, McCaw (capt), So'oialo.
Replacements: Hore, Tialata, Jack, Lauaki, Leonard, Evans, Toeava.

This article was posted on 23-Sep-2007, 17:04 by Hugh Barrow.