Scotland surprised nearly everyone last week as they ripped into Argentina, scoring 41 points in the process, and although they conceded 31, most of that can be put down to blatant stupidity and cockiness which almost definitely won’t feature against this week’s opponents.
A near-full-strength New Zealand side meanwhile were pushed close by England in the first half, before starving them of the ball and choking them in the second. We’ve seen better Kiwi performances but they adjusted their game plan well and their substitutes made more of an impact than England’s.
Scotland
Unsurprisingly, Scotland retain the same starting XV that came flying at Argentina with a fire that hasn’t been seen at Murrayfield since the early Frank Hadden era; the resurgent Ross Ford at hooker, the Gray brothers in the engine room, and Greig Laidlaw the only non-Warrior in the backline, which has a touch of irony about it given his fire-in-the-belly performance.
There are four changes to the bench though; hooker Fraser Brown in for Scott Lawson, Tim Swinson and Johnnie Beattie for Big Jim (Hamilton) and Alasdair Strokosch, and Chris Cusiter replacing the injured Henry Pyrgos. It takes the tally of Glasgow players in the twenty-three a whopping 16, but given their form this season that is hardly surprising.
New Zealand
And equally unsurprisingly, New Zealand change the entire starting XV from last week; 13 personnel changes and 15 positional changes in all.
Auckland Blues’ James Parsons makes his debut at hooker after just one week in the Kiwi camp following the Barbarians game, and he is flanked by Joe Moody and Charlie Faumuina in the front row. Jeremy Thrush and Dominic Bird start at lock, while Richie McCaw swaps to the blindside to accommodate Sam Cane, and the underrated Victor Vito starts at number eight.
TJ Perenara replaces Aaron Smith, while the rest of the backline is bursting with talent including Dan Carter’s first start for over a year at 10, and Ryan Crotty and Malakai Fekitoa in the centres. The biggest talking point though is normal fly-half or fullback Colin Slade being selected on the wing, while Ben Smith and Charles Piutau complete the back three.
There is also a ridiculous amount of skill on the bench including Sonny Bill Williams, Liam Messam and Julian Savea.
All eyes on
For Scotland, it has to be Greig Laidlaw. He had what was probably his best ever game in a Scotland jersey last week, but many will be eager to see if he can replicate it against a second-string – albeit still very strong – New Zealand side. His form has improved considerably since moving to Gloucester, with his awareness and speed of play the key components last week.
Colin Slade’s selection on the wing has to be one of the strangest to come out of New Zealand for a while, especially when you consider the fact that fullback Ben Smith can play out wide. Presumably New Zealand will look for Slade to trail around the back as a first receiver to try and suck in the Scottish defence. Either that or an intern made a typo and they’ve rolled with it.
Prediction
Regardless of the weakened New Zealand squad, it’s ridiculously hard to look past them getting a win at Murrayfield, especially as nearly all of these players would get into the starting XV of pretty much any other Tier One nation without breaking a sweat. If Scotland can play like they did last week, then they are in with a chance of scoring tries, it’s just conceding them that will be the problem. Scotland haven’t beaten the All Blacks in 29 attempts – that’s highly unlikely to change this weekend. New Zealand by 24.
By Calum Gillon (@C_Gillon)
Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images
As you know by now, we are hilarious, and you should be following us on Facebook and Twitter. 