Scotland v New Zealand- Tom English: Progress shudders to a halt

Published on Friday 12 November 2010 13:38

Andy Robinson has brought Scotland blinking towards the light in his time in charge of Scotland, but the progress made was but a distant memory last night as the coach got enveloped by darkness in the wake of this tumultuous pummelling. Robinson, dejected but trying to rally ahead of the Springboks on Saturday, said the nation had been let down.

Beside him, the stand-in captain, John Barclay, nodded in agreement. "It was slightly embarrassing," said the flanker. "A lot of people paid to watch us play. We owe them better than that."

Robinson went further. "We really let the nation down," he said, "but it's all about how we come back from it."

The New Zealanders spoke highly of the Scots. If you were cynical you would say it was patronising, but Graham Henry probably didn't mean it that way. He had respect for Scotland coming here, respect for Robinson and the improvements he's been making.

Why? Well, said Henry, they studied Scotland's Six Nations form and were impressed, they saw their victories in Argentina and reminded themselves that the last time the All Blacks had gone there they'd only scraped a win and were lucky to do so. Also, Scotland beat Australia a year ago, Henry recalled. "They've been playing some good footie. We've got to give them a pat on the back. They haven't played since June, so they were pretty rusty.

"We've played three weeks in a row and this was our best performance in a while, so Scotland copped it tonight. To come out and play the All Blacks after not having played in five months is not easy. I'd hate to think that they'll change what they're doing now. Don't give them a hiding for goodness sake. They're on the way up."

They were. Are they still? The South African match will tell a tale.

A game of rugby lasts 80-odd minutes, but this Test match didn't last that long. As ludicrous as it may sound, it was all over after eight minutes. You want to know why? Well, here it is.

Scotland v New Zealand: The facts and analysis

• Richard Bath: A masterclass from the legend of Otago

• The unending wait for a win

• Captain warms to Sonny Bill Williams

• How they played: Scotland

• How they played: New Zealand

Scotland needed to produce a miracle match to beat the All Blacks. A hundred years they've been at it and it still hasn't happened. No surprise, given the series of improbable events that need to occur for the run of failure to end. Scotland needed to be foot-perfect in every sense; monstrous in the tackle, clinical in the set-piece, quick and ruthless at the breakdown.

They needed to blast Richie McCaw to kingdom come and halt his offloading warriors at source.

After eight minutes we knew that the dream had become a delusion.

New Zealand's first attack was the moment when Scotland needed to put down a marker; a howitzer hit on Dan Carter, a ransacking of Mils Muliaina, a message sent to the Kiwi go-to men. Eight minutes in and the All Blacks had an attacking scrum in the Scotland 22. In they went and out they exploded.Jimmy Cowan roaring off the back, linking with the extraordinarily skilled Sonny Bill Williams, who drew the cover and got a pass out of the back door to Hosea Gear. Try under the posts. Resistance over. Game done.

"This is the reality for us, this is where we are," said Robinson. "Every game we play we've got to be at our best, but we weren't. It's easy to score points in rugby if you're sitting off a team. As you saw, New Zealand were not prepared to sit off. They worked hard for each other. The timing and physicality of their tackles was relentless. It wasn't the same for our side."

Sure, Scotland were wretched. But New Zealand were immense, better than they've been of late, said Henry. Their victory was built largely on power at the breakdown, an appreciation of space and the most glorious technique, as typified by the offloading wonder that is Williams. There isn't a team on earth that is more alive to a possibility than this one. So, one second it is a ruck in midfield and in the next breath possession has been turned into a three-on-one overlap up the right wing - and a try.

There was a terrible beauty to all of this, a cringe-making aspect as Scotland plodded on and chased shadows but also an admiration for the Kiwis in full flight.

Their annexing of the breakdown was outrageous. The breakdown wasn't a breakdown at all, in truth. More a holding station from where the Kiwis weighed up their attacking options. "The players have to look at themselves," said Robinson, later. "And so do I."

You sensed that this was a desperate shock to the system for Robinson, that he'd suspected his boys were further down the road than they actually were.

Before the Test he was bullish. Now? All he could do was pay generous tribute to the victors. "They're an outstanding side," he said. "They're comfortable with the ball in hand and they dominate the collisions. The hits going in were very physical. They have props at No.10 and they're able to move the ball wide. Sonny Bill has got everything and he's great for the sport, if not for an opposing coach. But it wasn't just him. The running lines across the board, just fantastic."

Woe upon woe descended on the Scots and the previous record defeat at Murrayfield against the All Blacks was scrubbed from the annals and replaced with a higher number. But long before the end, there was a touch of the compassionate about the Kiwis.Knowing that they had got what they came here for, they eased off, emptied their bench and reduced their strike rate.

Thank heavens for small mercies. "The game is now gone," said Robinson. "But we've got to use it in order to perform next week."

On Saturday, the Springboks. Gulp.