Scotland came so very close to a historic win – could it have been tens across the board had they managed to make this one count? This was a surprisingly easy defeat for a fan to take although I’m sure the players may feel differently.
15. Stuart Hogg: Did virtually nothing wrong all night. Secure under the high ball, grown massively into his leadership role and able to cut apart the best side in the world almost at will. If he had made that last pass or beaten Barrett then everyone could have tens but he came closest despite the loss – 9.5/10
14. Tommy Seymour: Started poorly, got worse and suddenly with no warning came onto a game in the last 20 minutes. Knocking back over his own line and coughing up a 5 metre scrum was a particularly embarrassing moment in an error-strewn episode. Will have much better days at the office – 6/10
13. Huw Jones: A tough day for the centres, he had to do a lot of defensive work as Scotland missed out the 12/13 axis in many of their attacks. A sign of his quality that he stuck at it and yet again bagged a try with a typically strong finish. A real quality addition to the Scottish artillery – 7.5/10
12. Alex Dunbar: As with Jones, had a tough shift but did his work well and should get more opportunities to show his attacking intent. May have picked up an injury – 7/10
11. Lee Jones: Significant worries beforehand about Lee Jones’ ability to withstand the power of Naholo were made to look trifling. His best game in a Scotland shirt, solid in defence and his speed and quick feet kept the All Blacks’ defence honest. Can be proud of his efforts – 8/10
10. Finn Russell: Another mercurial performance from Scotland’s court jester, when he plays like this he’s world class. Kicking from hand was high quality and was constantly looking to test the opposition defence, in this form he’s a joy to watch – 8.5/10
9. Ali Price: Showed great maturity and is really starting to own the 9 jersey. Laidlaw may bring control but Price today showed that he’s now first pick, perfect for Scotland’s game plan and his box kicking and decision making were top class – 8.5/10
1. Darryl Marfo: Looks to the manor born. May be fourth choice at Edinburgh but on this form should very much be a fixture in Scotland squads going forward. Good in the loose, keen as mustard and solid in the scrum he’s proving to be a good addition – 7.5 /10
2. Stuart McInally: Really solid performance… in two positions! As hooker he’s brought a stability to the line out and looks good in open play, when moving back to flanker he more than held his own. Fraser Brown has serious competition on his hands – 8/10
3. Zander Fagerson: Lasted 40 minutes and was solid, if unspectacular, in his work. The scrum was noticeably worse when he went off. Will have better days but still contributed to the cause for that superb first half. And no handbags! – 6.5/10
4. Ben Toolis: Another good performance and has really come on since the summer tour. Went through a mountain of work, tackled himself into the ground and again contributed to a very good lineout. – 7/10
5. Jonny Gray: Massively improved from last week, really fronted up to the New Zealand forwards and fully deserved his try. Despite this he was still short of his best… this can only bode well for the future but great to see him back on an upward curve – 7.5/10
6. John Barclay: As fine a captain’s performance as Murrayfield has seen in many years – his work in and around the breakdown was nothing short of spectacular. Today looked like the day he came of age as his nation’s captain – 9/10
7. Hamish Watson: Only played 26 minutes but was another strong showing both in offence and defence – he adds a sharp edge to the Scotland back row which really compliments the Scottish game plan. Hamilton was a fine replacement but they lacked Watson’s guile afterwards – 7/10
8. Cornell du Preez: Starting to grow into the Scotland shirt, help shore up the wobbly restarts, tackled well and really does have some lovely hands for a big man. – 7/10
Replacements:
16. George Turner: Played 30 minutes and never really looked out of place, for a young man he acquitted himself well – 6/10
17. Jamie Bhatti: Wasn’t on for too long, had a tough time in the scrum but stuck to his task and will have learned from playing against the world’s best – 5/10
18. Simon Berghan: Labelled ice-Berghan by one hack as he threatened to sink Scotland’s chances, however came back well to put in a basically decent performance – 5/10
19. Grant Gilchrist: Solid as ever, nothing flashy and didn’t get injured so by his standards it was a success – 5.5/10
20. Luke Hamilton: Unknown to Scottish rugby until very recently however Wales’ loss is Scotland’s gain. Played for 30 minutes but was positive in everything he did and a couple of big carries. Could, maybe (please Lord!) be the big ball carrier in the back row that Scotland are crying out for – 7/10
21. Henry Pyrgos: Only on the pitch for a short while, seemed to play a bit quicker than normal which was positive – 5/10
22. Pete Horne: Played about 35 minutes, had a few nice half-breaks but couldn’t make the breakthrough he did last week. Perhaps struggled physically against a wall of black shirts. If Dunbar is injured, may feature more next week – 6/10
23. Byron McGuigan: Came on but didn’t get any ball. Not really his fault… – 5/10
SQUAD UPDATE: Having recovered from injuries that kept them out originally, Sean Maitland and Fraser Brown will train with the Scotland squad this week.