Rugby-Missed opportunity to rewrite history books for Scotland

New Zealand scored two tries in the opening seven minutes and looked set for another dominant performance on their British tour to match the 55-23 thumping they gave Wales in Cardiff last week. But Scotland mounted an impressive comeback to lead 17-14 at half-time and be 23-14 ahead after a hour of play.

Scotland missed out on an opportunity to get a historic first-ever win over New Zealand, fading in the final 25 minutes as the All Backs rallied to win Sunday's test at Murrayfield, coach Gregor Townsend said after the 31-23 defeat. The Scots enjoyed a nine-point lead 15 minutes into the second half but lost as New Zealand kept up their unbeaten record against Scotland, now stretched to 32 games over the last 117 years.

"We're disappointed. There's so much to be proud of but we didn't see it through," said Townsend in reaction to the loss where Scotland saw a 23-14 lead slip over the last 25 minutes. New Zealand scored two tries in the opening seven minutes and looked set for another dominant performance on their British tour to match the 55-23 thumping they gave Wales in Cardiff last week.

But Scotland mounted an impressive comeback to lead 17-14 at half-time and be 23-14 ahead after a hour of play. "It was a show of resilience after going 14-0 down to one of the best teams in the world, but we didn't get the win," said Townsend.

"You don't get to play New Zealand very often and that's the best opportunity in our history we've had to beat them." Scotland have twice held New Zealand to a draw but never beaten them in 32 tests stretching back to 1905.

"We were there or thereabouts for 70 minutes of the game. Three penalties on their line, but look I'm just so proud of the boys," said Townsend. "We spoke about being courageous all week and we did that," he added.

For captain Jamie Ritchie, who had a storming game on the flank, it was also a chance to look ahead to the last of the autumn internationals against Argentina next Saturday with some confidence. "It's tough to be on the wrong side of the result. It's some of the best rugby we've played over the last three weeks," Ritchie said. (Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Clare Fallon)

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