Scotland fell to a 43-21 defeat against New Zealand in the Nations Championship at Murrayfield, despite a historic hat-trick from hooker Ewan Ashman. The result extends Scotland's winless run against the All Blacks to 34 meetings since their first encounter in 1905. This latest setback follows a 2-1 defeat to Slovenia on 6 October.
Ashman became only the fifth player ever to score a hat-trick against New Zealand, with all three of his tries coming in a frantic first half. His efforts had reduced the deficit to just three points at the break, with the score 24-21, but Scotland failed to score a single point after the restart.
How the match unfolded
New Zealand struck first with a try from Wallace Sititi in the fourth minute. Ashman responded with his first score, converted by Finn Russell, in the eighth minute. The visitors then added tries through Ethan de Groot and Codie Taylor to build a lead.
Ashman's second try came in the 33rd minute and his hat-trick was completed from a lineout maul just before half-time, briefly raising hopes of an upset. The momentum shifted dramatically after the interval. Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu was sin-binned in the 51st minute, and New Zealand capitalised with quick tries from Josh Moorby and Beauden Barrett. Asafo Aumua added a late score to complete the comprehensive victory.
The loss is part of a patchy run of form for Scotland, whose last four results read loss, win, loss, draw. They were beaten 2-1 by Slovenia in their previous match on 6 October, with Ryan Christie scoring their only goal. That match saw Christie find the net in the 31st minute, assisted by Oliver McBurnie, but Slovenia scored twice in the second half. This recent sequence of one win, one draw and two defeats includes a 2-0 victory over FYR Macedonia on 3 October, where Kieron Bowie and John McGinn were the scorers, and a goalless draw in Slovenia on 26 September. The team's current form has left them with 4 points from their opening 4 matches in the Nations Championship. To stabilise their campaign, they must now prepare for a key home fixture against Portugal on 16 November. Attention will then turn to a key home match against FYR Macedonia on Friday 13 November. A win there is essential, and the team will be hoping key players recover in time from the latest injuries.
Read the full report at The 42
