WE were all on our feet.
Every last of 67,000-plus crowd as Stuart Hogg danced past one, two, three and almost four black shirts, and had the white line in his sights with seconds to go. Had he touched down, it would have made it 22-22, giving Finn Russell a conversion, the last kick of the game, to beat the All Blacks at last.
Even this genius of a full-back ran out of space, so tried to throw the ball inside, which was the right thing to go, but the pass went forward and that was it.
I’m not sure how to spell the internal scream which tore through my soul at that moment. But if I were to guess it was something like raaaaargghty.
What. A. Match.
This was so much more than a plucky performance by brave Scotland against the world champions whose record against us now reads 31 matches, 29 wins, two draws and no defeats.
Okay, there was of course a bit of that, we are the best in the business at losing well, but that’s not how this Test Match should be remembered.
John Barclay and his men gave the supporters so many thrilling moments when it was impossible to remain on your seat or stay silent.
They lost because it was the All Blacks, not because they played badly. They lost because when those wearing white started to pick up injuries, the difference in strengths of the two benches was shown to be quite considerable.
They lost because Gregor Townsend had 14 senior squad players missing. And the officials didn’t do the home side many favours either.
Even when tiredness crept in late in the game, however, Townsend’s men forced their esteemed opponents into all sorts off strange behaviour.
New Zealand even ended up time wasting. Against Scotland.
This is what in our trade is called a colour piece. The fear before a single key was hit it anger at Murrayfield yesterday was that if was going to be all black.
Well, what did anyone real expect? Scotland coach Gregor Townsend is without some of his best players. New Zealand, more or less, fielded their strongest team. Those Kiwis who during the week predicted a 50-point win for their men have sounded disrespectful; however, they also could quite conceivably have been be spot-on.
And when, as the great Bill McLaren would have said, there was some ill-mannered booing bellowed from the stands during the Haka, which was pathetic, then those of us who are permanently worried as Scotland fans started to get the fear.
The All Blacks, world champions and best team on the planet by some distance, do not require any extra motivation.
And then the game started, and it wasn’t all black. It was all Scotland.
That first half was performance was perhaps the greatest 40 minutes Scotland’s rugby union international team produced in 20 years. It was at the same time electrifying and bewildering.
The ball zipped from Scottish hand to Scottish hand, offloads found their men, the kicks found touch and that All Blacks defensive line was broken by backs and forwards repeatedly.
Hogg from the start was world class. After a certain bloke who plays tennis, this incredibly rugby player is Scotland’s current greatest sports star. He was ably supported by his team-mates who gave their all and then a lot more.
It has become a tendency, on occasion with justification, to wonder when a 50/50 decision will go Scotland’s way.
In the first-half, New Zealand winger Reiko Ioane connected with Hogg he was in the air having collected a high ball, which brought him down with a thump. English referee Matthew Carley wanted to show his yellow card by was overruled by the TMO.
Carley did sinbin Sam Cane and Wyatt Crockett, which mean the Blacks were a man down for the last 20 minutes, but Townsend was looking for more as his team powered towards the All Blacks try line, only to be stopped illegally.
There was a strong case for a penalty try.
That’s how good Scotland were. That is how good Scotland can be. It was a privilege to be there.
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