Scotland vs New Zealand LIVE rugby: Result and reaction as hosts denied historic win over All Blacks

Scotland squandered a nine-point lead in the final quarter as they missed out on a first-ever victory over New Zealand in a pulsating autumn Test at BT Murrayfield.

Gregor Townsend’s side looked on course for a famous triumph when they roared back from an early 14-0 deficit to claim a 23-14 advantage courtesy of a penalty try, a Darcy Graham touchdown and 11 points from the boot of the recalled Finn Russell.

But the All Blacks turned things around in the closing stages with a couple of tries from Scott Barrett and Mark Telea, while Scotland replacement Jack Dempsey was in the sin-bin, enough to secure a 31-23 victory.

“That was the best opportunity they have had,” says the former Scotland captain John Barclay. “That is a huge opportunity missed. That’s the only way they can look at it. And that will hurt more than Australia two weeks ago, but a lot, because some of those players won’t get the opportunity to play New Zealand again. It would have a huge win for the country, to kick on from a disappointing Six Nations. They best teams have an opportunity and take it. New Zealand found a way to win.”

Reaction from Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend: “We’re disappointed. There’s so much to be proud about the performance but we didn’t see it though and that’s the disappointment for us as a squad and supporters. We will look back at the opportunities and the way they got back in the game, our errors, penalties. After the yellow card they were the better team. The courage was good. It was a show of resilience after going 14 points down. There was a lot of good play in there, but we didn’t win. That’s ultimately why we are here.”

Reaction from Scotland captain Jamie Ritchie: “It's tough to be on the wrong side of the result. We were there or there abouts. Three penalties on their line but I'm so proud of the boys, we spoke about being courageous and we did that today. It’s bigger than rugby but ee did that for Doddie. Such a special man but we are sorry we couldn't get the result. It means everything. It's hard to put into words. I don't think anybody defines bravery more than Doddie. It's a bit raw to talk about, but that was some of the best rugby we've played over the last three weeks.”

Reaction from former Wales and British and Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland: “What a great game of rugby. I feel for Scotland a little bit because I thought they played outstandingly well. Scotland kept the All Blacks scoreless for 50 minutes. I thought the difference was the bench for the All Blacks. They had a huge impact going forward, TJ Perenara, Rieko Ioane, that was the difference. Scotland should take pride from that performance.”

Reaction from New Zealand captain Sam Whitelock: “It’s never easy here. It’s such an awesome place to play and you could tell the Scotland side were up for it. Pretty tough at the start, but the guys were awesome. There was a bit of ill-discipline that allowed Scotland to get back into it. They fed on it but we got away with the win. History says it’s not easy here so we’ll take the win.”

Reaction from New Zealand’s Dalton Papali’i, who was named man of the match: “I think we trusted our leaders. We went in at half time and said the rub of the green wasn’t going our way. But we came out and said let’s get back to our basics. We got the momentum back and we went on from there. I wasn’t really calm but we trusted our gain drivers. We trusted their calls and focussed on our job. We knew it was going to be a tough match. Second half we knew it was a big one, we pulled through.”

Scotland’s brave effort to earn a first ever victory over New Zealand fell agonisingly short in a 31-23 defeat at Murrayfield.

After 31 attempts, Scotland could sense a historic win over the All Blacks, but late tries from Scott Barrett and Mark Telea dashed hopes and ended a spirited performance from Gregor Townsend’s men.

Read the instant report, here:

Out it goes, and New Zealand’s winning run over Scotland continues.

But there was a moment, when the hosts were nine-points up, when it looked we were set for a historic result.

But it wasn’t to be.

79 mins: This one will hurt for Scotland. New Zealand have the ball in the corner and there are just second remaining.