Scotland’s defensive frailties exposed again in 43-21 loss to New Zealand

Scotland’s defensive weaknesses were exposed again in their 43-21 defeat by New Zealand at Murrayfield, with the All Blacks scoring four tries after half-time to turn a close contest into a clear win.

Ewan Ashman’s first-half hat-trick helped Scotland reach the break just three points behind, at 24-21. But New Zealand shut them out in the second half, pulling away to win 43-21. A match report details how the visitors took control after the interval.

BBC Scotland chief sports writer Tom English argued that the defeat reflected a recurring problem rather than a one-off collapse. He pointed to Scotland’s recent record of conceding heavily against leading sides, including six tries against Ireland and South Africa and five against Argentina last autumn.

Scotland had spoken before the autumn campaign about making opponents work for every metre, English wrote. Yet New Zealand scored from a line-out move four minutes into the match, using two decoy runners to wrong-foot the defence.

The hosts showed their attacking threat before the break, but struggled to contain New Zealand after it. English described the All Blacks as more accurate and physically stronger in the second half, when they scored 19 unanswered points.

New Zealand reached 43 points with 12 minutes remaining. Scotland next face Australia on Sunday, with English noting that they have won four of their past five matches against the Wallabies under head coach Gregor Townsend.