New Zealand maintained their unbeaten record against Scotland with a 43-21 victory at Murrayfield on Saturday, finishing the game with 19 unanswered second-half points to pull clear in their Nations Championship fixture.
Scotland held a three-point lead at the break after a first half that saw seven tries, two yellow cards for the All Blacks, and a hat-trick from hooker Ewan Ashman — all converted by Finn Russell. But the hosts' rustiness told badly after the interval, with errors and a sin-bin for captain Sione Tuipulotu allowing New Zealand to run away with the contest.
Beauden Barrett scored twice to bring his test try tally to 50, with Wallace Sititi, Ethan de Groot, Peter Lakai, Josh Moorby and Asafo Aumua also crossing. Damian McKenzie converted four. Man of the match Quinn Tupaea reflected that the tour to South Africa and the Bledisloe Cup fixtures against Australia had sharpened the All Blacks' cohesion compared to a Scotland side that had not played since July.
The result extends New Zealand's overall record against Scotland to 32 wins and two draws from 34 meetings, leaving the 121-year Scottish winless streak intact.
The win keeps New Zealand level with South Africa — who beat Italy earlier on Saturday — on 20 points at the top of the Southern Hemisphere standings. For Scotland, the defeat is a serious setback to their ambitions of leading the Northern Hemisphere section.