Three touches of magic from Damian McKenzie have led the All Blacks to a hard-fought 25-17 victory over a rejuvenated Scotland at Murrayfield this morning.
The little outside back, on as a replacement as the game was slipping away from the All Blacks, scored a sensational try in the left corner to break the 17-all deadlock with less than five minutes remaining, and then kicked the penalty from well over 40m out to make the game safe.
Before that, as the All Blacks attempted to recover from the shock of letting slip a 17-0 lead with three players having been sent to the sinbin, McKenzie kicked an enormous 50-22 to put his side five metres from the Scotland line and lay the foundation for their victory.
It was a remarkable cameo performance from McKenzie, who backed up Leicester Fainga’anuku to score his try when really he had no right to get the ball over the line.
McKenzie, ushered towards the touchline by the covering Blair Kinghorn, held off the fullback with one arm and somehow flopped over the line backwards while staying in the field of play.
It was an extraordinary show of balance, strength and control and it was desperately needed for an All Blacks side who kept their Grand Slam hopes alive with this win despite displaying a second-half fragility that handed virtually all the momentum to the home side.
Loose forwards Ardie Savea (collapsing a maul) and Wallace Sititi (intentional knock-down) were sinbinned in the second half, with right wing Leroy Carter (foot trip) yellow carded before the break.
With the All Blacks, who were on the scoreboard early through Cam Roigard and late in the first half via Will Jordan, again showing a worrying vulnerability under the high ball, at re-starts and the driving maul, it took little time for the Scots to reply to their 17-0 halftime deficit through hooker Ewan Ashman and wing Kyle Steyn.
Whereas in the first half the All Blacks controlled the ball and territory and generally made the better decisions, now Scotland were playing with an almost irresistible momentum.
The All Blacks remained relatively well connected on defence but they were caught narrow several times. Unfortunately for the Scots, their No.10 Finn Russell required treatment for a left knee injury and he failed to last the match. It was a big blow.
Scotland, who had never beaten the All Blacks in 32 previous attempts over 120 years, should have made more of their chances.
They were twice held up over the line in the first half and then, once they narrowed the gap to 17-14, halfback Ben White got within centimetres of the try-line, with prop Pierre Schoeman losing the ball in Codie Taylor’s tackle.
Perhaps even worse than that was Darcy Graham’s miss in the right corner, the little wing bouncing the ball over the line in Roigard’s desperate cover tackle.
However, a Russell penalty after McKenzie was caught offside tied the score as the match headed into the final quarter, at which point the little Chiefs playmaker, his head bandaged and face streaming with blood from several cuts, gradually took control.
Credit must be given to the All Blacks’ composure in those final moments after McKenzie’s kick put them to within 5m of the Scotland line with eight minutes remaining.
Their set piece was flawless, with lock Fabian Holland and replacement hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho both excelling.
Savea’s leadership and patience was key, too, as it was his decision to go for the touchline rather than the posts when the All Blacks won a penalty from the lineout and it paid off, with Beauden Barrett’s wide pass finding Fainga’anuku and McKenzie somehow doing the rest.
Credit should be given to Fainga’anuku, a beneficiary of Jordie Barrett's unavailability. He was a constant threat with his offloading game, and while he possibly should have passed earlier at one point in the first half, he was rarely out of the game and had to fill in at flanker at times during the 20 minutes Savea and Sititi were off.
It was also the big No.13’s penalty turnover which secured the opportunity for McKenzie to put the Test beyond doubt with one of the bigger kicks of his career.
“We were very happy to get the win and probably lucky as well,” Savea said afterwards.
Two from two, with Tests against England in London and Wales in Cardiff to come: the All Blacks roll on but they did it the hard way and with questions remaining about how they could lose control of a Test they had in such an apparently tight grip.
For poor old Scotland, it is difficult to know how and when they will get a better opportunity.
All Blacks 25 (Cam Roigard, Will Jordan, Damian McKenzie tries; Beauden Barrett 2 cons, pen, McKenzie pen)
Scotland 17 (Ewan Ashman, Kyle Steyn tries; Finn Russell 2 cons, pen)
Halftime: 17-0
SHARE ME