Scotland coach Steve McCormack could not hide his disappointment after his side were crushed 74-6 by New Zealand in their latest World Cup match.
The Bravehearts conceded 14 tries to the rampant Kiwis in Christchurch and have now leaked 124 points in their first two games, but will still reach the quarter-finals if they beat Samoa in their final group game in Cairns next weekend.
The Scots, hammered 50-4 by Tonga in Cairns, trailed 28-0 at half time and were 64-0 down when half- back Oscar Thomas scored their only try.
“It was a tough night,” McCormack said. “It was always a danger that if we didn’t turn up and be at our best, something like that could happen.
“I’m really disappointed in that performance, although I thought New Zealand were really good. We had no ball and New Zealand were fresh and technically they were very good.
“I’ve said all along we’ve got a young squad and we’ll learn lessons from that. The key is to make sure we turn up with a better attitude against Samoa.”
McCormack singled out Bradford centre Brandon Wilkinson for praise after he made his Test debut in difficult circumstances.
“There are positives,” he said. “I’d pick out Brandon Wilkinson, a lad who’s never played Super League. He really showed up for a young player who was playing academy football 12 months ago.
“There were some others, too; Alex Walker at full-back never gave up.”
The victory was sweet revenge for New Zealand after they were held by Scotland to an embarrassing 18-18 draw in their last meeting in Workington a year ago.
“We wanted to concentrate on ourselves but we knew where their threat was going to come, from their fast wingers,” said Kiwis coach David Kidwell.
“Their outside backs cause trouble when they get quick play-the-balls so we knew, if we could nullify that, it would give us the best options to play our game.”
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