Ruthless All Blacks blow Scotland away in second half

New Zealand defeated Scotland 49–24 at Murrayfield, pulling clear in the second half after a thrilling opening 40 minutes. The seven-tries-to-three win underlined the All Blacks’ ability to turn a close contest into a commanding result.

Scotland hooker Ewan Ashman scored a hat-trick, and his side trailed by only three points at half-time. New Zealand had led 17–7 early, despite a yellow card to Peter Lakai, while Wallace Sititi was also sin-binned; Josh Moorby, Beauden Barrett and Asafo Aumua scored after the break. It was New Zealand’s 32nd win in 34 Tests against Scotland, with the other two matches drawn.