It was long thought that the Scotland team had the ability to beat anyone in their era, but failed to deliver 80-minute performances.
It was a classic of the genre and head coach Gregor Townsend says there is a lot of work to do.
“We gave them too many opportunities with our discipline,” Townsend said, echoing his captain’s verdict.
“In the second half we were never able to capitalize on the good work of the first half, largely because we didn’t have the ball. At times we made mistakes and then with the yellow card we had to defend for much of that period.
“It was disappointing. Every time I see this team prepare, I feel like we have a chance to beat anyone. I felt it today and I felt it at halftime, but it didn’t happen.
“On both sides of the ball we need to be tougher to break down. Our defense was doing well. At times we were pushing New Zealand back. But whether it was an offside or a mistake around the breakdown, we were penalized and put in our 22 yards.”
Scotland’s Six Nations victories over Wales and England were followed by a shock defeat to Italy. They responded by beating France in a superb performance before ending their campaign by losing to Ireland.
Last fall, a closer score against New Zealand came just before a spectacular collapse against Argentina. They entertain and infuriate in equal measure.
Townsend’s side welcome Australia and Japan to Murrayfield this month as they bid to end their Nations Championship campaign on a high.
“I still think the players we have and the way we prepare to play should cause the opposition problems,” Townsend said.
“New Zealand had a boost in the scrum at times, and they were very good in the ruck, so that’s to their credit. They clearly deserved the win.
“We’ll learn from it. It was a lesson to make sure our error rate and our discipline needs to be much better. If you give so many turnovers and penalties to a good team like New Zealand, you’re not going to win.”
Gn sports
