Scotland 'chase greatness' but key man reminds current team 121 years of hurt is not on them
Captains warns against being weighed down by historical baggage
Sione Tuipulotu urged his Scotland team-mates to “chase greatness” against the All Blacks at Murrayfield on Saturday and insisted that they won’t be burdened by the history of the fixture.
The sides first met at Inverleith in Edinburgh in 1905 and have played each other 33 times but the Scots are still seeking their first victory. New Zealand have won 31 matches, with the other two drawn.
Recent games at Murrayfield have seen the home side come close to busting the hoodoo but it remains intact and Tuipulotu would love to be the first captain to lead Scotland to victory over the All Blacks
“Of course, that's what we're striving to do,” he said. “And we are chasing greatness in that way as we're trying to be the first of our kind.
Don’t carry the weight of history
“But one thing that I've told the boys this week is that this team in the changing room is not responsible for the last 121 years of rugby in Scotland. And it's important for us to not carry the weight of 121 years of history.
“And, you know, I remember even after we lost to Italy last year in the first game of the Six Nations, it's important for us to be responsible for what we achieve and what we don't achieve.
“And it's important for us to, I suppose, decide what baggage we're going to take into the game. Because I think quite often in these All Blacks games, sometimes the baggage you carry is all self-inflicted or you're watching what the media is saying.”
Two draws, 31 defeats
A succession of Scotland teams have tried and failed to get the better of New Zealand. The closest they have come was in 1964, when the sides drew 0-0 at Murrayfield, and 1983, when Scotland wing Jim Pollock’s late try levelled the score at 25-25 but Peter Dods couldn’t land the conversion from touchline.
Recent matches have been close, with New Zealand’s margin of victory in the last four encounters being eight points (2014), five points (2017), eight points (2022) and eight points (2025).
Last year’s game saw Scotland trail 17-0 at half-time but they restored parity at the midpoint of the second half only to concede a try and penalty to All Blacks replacement stand-off Damian McKenzie in the final six minutes. New Zealand won 25-17.
Since then, Scotland have achieved impressive victories over England and France, with the latter win being particularly impressive. Tuipulotu wants his team to play with the same relentlessness as they showed against Fabien Galthie’s side in March.
“I think it's just [about] staying true to our game plan for 80 minutes,” said the centre. “As we know, we were under the pump then got back to 17-all. But we're not interested in getting back to 17-all, getting back to a tie or getting three points ahead.
“The France game was a good example of staying true to who we are for 80 minutes and what that can mean for a team defending against us.
“So, I think the most important lesson from last time we played the All Blacks is, okay, we're chasing history and whatever, but it's got to come in the way of us staying determined and fixated on our game plan for 80 minutes. That's what's going to get us there.”
Teams for Murrayfield Nations Championship clash
Scotland v New Zealand, Nations Championship, Murrayfield, Saturday, 2.10pm
Scotland: Kyle Rowe; Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu (capt), Jamie Dobie; Finn Russell, Ben White; Rory Sutherland, Ewan Ashman, Zander Fagerson, Gregor Brown, Scott Cummings, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey. Replacements: Gregor Hiddleston, Pierre Schoeman, Will Hurd, Max Williamson, Josh Baylish, George Horne, Tom Jordan, Blair Kinghorn.
New Zealand: Beauden Barrett; Will Jordan, Quinn Tupaea, Jordie Barrett, Josh Moorby; Damian McKenzie, Cam Roigard; Ethan de Groot, Codie Taylor (capt), Fletcher Newell, Scott Barrett, Fabian Holland, Tupou Vaa'i, Peter Lakai, Wallace Sititi. Replacements: Asafo Aumua, George Bower, Pasilio Tosi, Christian Lio-Willie, Anton Segner, Cortez Ratima, Timoci Tavatavanawai, Rieko Ioane.
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU).
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