Scotland want quick ball and midfield magic but All Blacks won't be as flakey as France
New Zealand’s insider knowledge and attacking dangers pose huge threat
New Zealand go into the match against Scotland with so much insider knowledge that it would be no surprise if they knew what Gregor Townsend was planning to have for breakfast on Saturday morning.
All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie succeeded Townsend at Glasgow Warriors and worked alongside Zander Fagerson, Matt Fagerson, Scott Cummings, Huw Jones, Kyle Steyn and George Horne, who will all line up against the Kiwis in Edinburgh.
Rennie’s attack guru Mike Blair was once Townsend’s assistant, later became head coach of Edinburgh and is so immersed in Scottish rugby that he joked this week about going into the wrong changing room at Murrayfield.
To be forewarned is to be forearmed and New Zealand arrive with more info on the opposition than seems healthy. But will they need it? History suggests not. Scotland have never beaten the All Blacks in 121 years of trying but, as captain Sione Tuipulotu was at pains to point out, the sins of the past should not be laid at the door of the current squad.
Scotland have got the old band back together
Tuipulotu is an engaging character and, you suspect, an inspiring figure in the changing room. He is also a huge part of what makes the team tick on the field. If Scotland are to break their All Blacks hoodoo they will need their inside centre to be firing on all cylinders.
The midfield fulcrum of Finn Russell, Tuipulotu and Huw Jones is one of Scotland’s greatest assets and probably goes a long way to explaining Townsend’s decision to select Jones over Rory Hutchinson despite the latter’s fine form in the summer Nations Championship games in Argentina and South Africa.
Jones is fit again and playing well for Toulon and it means the old band is back together.
“I've been pretty surprised at how quickly we got back on the same page of training over the last couple of weeks,” said Tuipulotu of the reunion with his old Glasgow sidekick. “We've built that over five, six years now, that combination. I'd like to think, well, I'm hoping, that can be a big part of a win tomorrow - our cohesiveness with Finn and our ability to make our attack tick.”
For it to work, Scotland need to generate quick ball in the manner they did against France in the Six Nations. They devastated Fabien Galthie’s side at Murrayfield in March, turning the visitors’ Grand Slam hopes to dust in a crazy 50-40 victory.
All about the breakdown
Six of Scotland's seven tries were scored by backs but Townsend was unequivocal about where the game was won.
“It was about the breakdown,” said the Scotland coach. “We won every ruck. And not only did we win the rucks, we had to win quick ball there.”
A successful attack is built on quick ball and Townsend knows New Zealand will play with much the same philosophy. The All Blacks of Rennie and Blair have already shown they are a more expansive team than they were under Scott Robertson and in the six games under the new regime there has been a return to traditional Kiwi virtues. This is a team that trusts its attacking instincts and has the skills to go phase after phase with ball in hand.
New Zealand unlikely to be as flakey as France
The win over France is flagged up as an example of how Scotland can play when they get it right but that game almost felt freakish at times. Townsend’s men led 47-14 at one point as France fell apart and it’s hard to imagine New Zealand being as flakey.
Autumn was tough for Scotland last year but the message for public consumption is that they have learned from those losses to New Zealand and Argentina on successive weekends in November 2025. The big swings of momentum that proved so damaging were most obvious against the Pumas when Scotland built a 21-0 lead but conceded five tries in the final 24 minutes to lose 33-24.
It goes without saying that Scotland cannot afford such a glut of points against them but they are up against a devastating attacking team whose twin playmakers Damian McKenzie and Beauden Barrett are expected to swap around and cause as much creative mischief as possible.
Good vibes only
Townsend dismissed the notion that the aura around New Zealand had played a part in recent defeats but there remains something special, something intangible about the All Blacks. Scotland invited Josh Kerr and Duncan Scott into their camp this week, two world leading sportsmen in athletics and swimming, respectively. Good vibes only is the theme this week and Tupulotu is all for it.
“I think it's awesome to rub shoulders with Scottish athletes that have dominated their fields,” said the skipper. “They've reached the top of the mountain.
“I think the more that we can do that as well, we'll be surrounded by other people that have walked this path, that have tried to be the first of their kind. It's valuable.”
Vibes will only get you so far, however. Scotland need to cut the supply to McKenzie and the Barrett brothers, find a way to get Russell, Tuipulotu and Jones on the ball and for their front five to play with the same ferocious endeavour that they showed against France in March and South Africa in July.
Scotland and New Zealand both sit second in their respective groups in the Nations Championship and if they remain there over the next three weekends they will meet again at Twickenham at the end of the month.
There is a lot of rugby to be played before then and there is a certain irony that Saturday’s match at Murrayfield could yet be decided by the battle between old pals Townsend and Blair, the New Zealand attack coach who was born and raised in Edinburgh and remains Scotland’s most capped scrum-half.
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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