Scots ponder what might have been in glorious failure against mighty Kiwis
FOR a brief moment Murrayfield rose as one. History beckoned as Stuart Hogg accelerated towards the try-line only to be held up five metres out.
It was the final act for Scotland in a titanic clash against the All Blacks which carried them closer than ever before to beating the best side on the planet at the 31st attempt.
An afternoon of emotional and breathless action in the capital was brought to a close with the Kiwis knowing they should have been brought to their knees.
But that familiar tale of glorious defeat lingers and playmaker Ali Price believes they deserved so much more after being denied by the smallest of margins in a game where they’d been all but written off.
Price said: “We nearly did it. We’re proud of our effort and it’s a shame we just couldn’t get over the line.
“Everyone is gutted that we didn’t win the game. I don’t think anyone give us a hope in hell all week.
“We didn’t read too much into that. We were tight knit and went about our training. We knew if we turned up, put them under pressure and played well then we’d give ourselves a good shout.
“We put them under huge pressure, especially from kick-offs. I don’t think they found it easy to exit.
“We had a couple of first caps and our skipper John Barclay made a great point, saying that whoever has come in has fitted straight in and hasn’t looked out of place at all.
“Whoever pulls on the jersey, it’s a special moment and they gave their all. Everyone did that.
“It’s easy to get up for a game like this. Everyone had screwed the nut.
“You don’t get to play the All Blacks every year so everyone was switched on. We almost did it.”
It might have been different had Gregor Townsend’s side racked up the points their first-half performance deserved. But only a Finn Russell penalty was pegged back by Beauden Barrett’s before the break.
Tries from Codie Taylor and Damian McKenzie early in the second half put the world champions in command before Jonny Gray dived over to bring newfound hope.
Barrett then broke free for a score of his own and it appeared that would be that. But Scotland mustered a late charge on an All Blacks side that had long since started to buckle.
And a Huw Jones try triggered a late push that had all hands at the pumps for New Zealand, with Sam Cane and Wyatt Crockett both yellow-carded to illustrate their sense of panic.
Then came the Hogg moment. Scotland’s Man of the Match found another gear to hare down the left.
But just as he appeared to get himself free, the game’s other outstanding performer, Barrett, bundled him to the ground.
The Murrayfield experience was spectacular yet again and Price insists his side will regroup and redouble their efforts for their Autumn Tests curtain closer against the Australians.
He said: “The atmosphere out there was unbelievable. Running out, the anthems, the haka, everything. When you grow up playing rugby it’s nights like this you want to be involved in.
“The last time we played Australia in Sydney we put in a good performance and won. Come Monday, we will come back and be geared up to win on Saturday.
“It’s a challenge because Australia on a bit of a roll, bar the result against England.
“We were always very calm under the sticks against New Zealand who are a good side and are going to score.
“But every time they did we were on about the next goal – what to do off the next kick-off. Everyone was very calm. “We waned to play at a tempo. You see that at our lineouts and generally on the pitch. I feel that we’re an exciting team to watch. “Teams can’t rest against us, regardless of where the ball is. We have the fitness. Glasgow boys, Edinburgh boys, exiles – we’re all fit. “There are a couple things to work on. Accuracy again. The All Blacks cut us off scrum, so set-piece, defence, focus. We want to be sitting here next week with a win under our belts. “If we bring the intensity we did, matched with accuracy, and everyone is behind us then we will get a good result. “If we’re in games with 60 minutes gone, we back ourselves to be fitter than anyone else. We were five metres off in the end.” ● Glasgow have confirmed that Scotland star Finn Russell will leave the club at the end of the season. The fly-half has been linked with clubs in France but the Warriors would only reveal that he has been offered “a once in a lifetime opportunity”.