The All Blacks, in near disarray at times in Edinburgh as they gave up a 14-point lead to Scotland, have fought back to win 31-23 to extend their winning streak to six.
After a good early start which reaped them two converted tries in the first eight minutes from hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho, and wing Mark Telea – on Test debut – the All Blacks had to dig extremely deep to force their way back into the game after the Scots scored 23 unanswered points at Murrayfield.
A defeat to the Scots would have been their first ever and would have come on top of a history-making series defeat to Ireland and a first home loss to Argentina, but a controversial 65th-minute yellow card to replacement loose forward Jack Dempsey for an intentional knock on in front of his posts gave the All Blacks the advantage they desperately required.
Two minutes earlier, Jordie Barrett had scored a penalty to narrow the gap to 23-17, and Dempsey’s sinbinning – he appeared to knock the ball on in the act of making a tackle – pushed the dial the All Blacks’ way.
Electing to take an attacking scrum from the penalty, Jordie Barrett went close from Ardie Savea’s pass, with Scott Barrett going over from the resulting ruck for a converted try which handed the All Blacks the lead.
The All Blacks, with wholesale changes after their victory over Wales in Cardiff last weekend, were assisted hugely by their replacements, with hooker Codie Taylor, loose forward Shannon Frizell, midfielder Rieko Ioane and halfback TJ Perenara influential.
Of those, Perenara, playing his first Test in exactly 12 months, was perhaps the most important – he added a leadership and accuracy not present under Finlay Christie and the All Blacks were inspired to another excellent try by Telea in the right corner brilliantly converted by Jordie Barrett from the sideline.
It gave them their eight-point buffer and effectively made the game safe but they should be far from satisfied with their performance ahead of next weekend’s Test against England at Twickenham.
They were again ill disciplined, giving up eight penalties to Scotland’s four in the first half, with Anton Lienert-Brown yellow carded for tackling Stuart Hogg off the ball as the fullback attempted to chase down a kick and score.
That allowed the Scots to halve the All Blacks’ lead, with David Havili – another midfielder back from injury – compounding things by throwing an intercept pass as his side attempted a breakout (shades of the All Blacks’ defeat to France in Paris last November), and impressive wing Darcy Graham was the beneficiary.
Indeed, for large periods, Scotland’s back three were far more effective than the All Blacks’, with Graham, the experienced Hogg and wing Duhan van der Merwe alive to attacking opportunities and providing an almost irresistible momentum.
Finn Russell, recalled to No.10 for Scotland, helped his side to a 23-14 lead with three penalties – he didn’t miss a kick – and, as the game entered the final quarter, it appeared a long way back for the All Blacks who again appeared fragile under pressure.
They were lateral and indecisive on attack and missing an edge at the breakdown. The crowd, in full voice, sensed history in the making.
With Edinburgh-born Christie struggling to impose himself, and the All Blacks bamboozled at times by the decisions by Irish referee Frank Murphy, Ian Foster’s men required direction and inspiration.
The sight of Beauden Barrett tripping over himself and passing under pressure to brother Jordie only for the fullback to drop the ball in front of his posts said it all.
But with the robust Savea and Dalton Papalii working their way back to breakdown dominance for the All Blacks and the scrum shored up by replacement props George Bower and Fletcher Newell, along with the rejuvenated Taylor, the All Blacks re-found their mojo.
A defeat would have shone a spotlight on Foster’s decision to make so many changes after his side found some much-needed consistency and attacking form against Wales.
Havili and Lienert-Brown struggled to gel, with Telea, while taking his tries well, guilty of making a couple of mistakes off the ball.
As it is, the All Blacks will head to London with their long-awaited showdown with England with their streak intact, but vulnerabilities again exposed.
All Blacks 31 (Mark Telea 2, Samisoni Taukei’aho, Scott Barrett tries; Jordie Barrett 4 cons, pen)
Scotland 23 (Penalty try, Darcy Graham try; Finn Russell con, 3 pens)
Halftime: Scotland 17-14
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