Scotland prepares to face New Zealand, hoping to end a run of 33 defeats

The winless streak has lasted since 1905

Scotland's rugby team will face New Zealand on Saturday at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, once again attempting to beat the All Blacks for the first time in history. In 33 Tests, dating back to the first meeting in 1905, the Scots have never won; their best results are two draws, in 1964 and 1983. This is reported by AFP citing comments from lock Scott Cummings.

Last year's match as a source of confidence

In last November's match in Edinburgh, Scotland, trailing 0:17, levelled the score at 17:17 by the final quarter, but ultimately lost 17:25 after a late try by Damian McKenzie. In Cummings' view, the character of that defeat will give Gregor Townsend's side plenty of self-belief in the first match of the European leg of the Nations Championship, though the team cannot afford a repeat of the slow start. 'To win, we will need a full 80-minute performance,' he said, noting that in the second half of last year's encounter the Scots showed far more of how they want to play.

Familiarity with the opponent's coach

The 29-year-old Cummings, a member of the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour, previously worked under the current All Blacks coach Dave Rennie, who led Glasgow from 2017 to 2020. He called Rennie 'a genuine top-class coach' with a strong emphasis on attacking rugby and noted that Rennie knows some of the Scotland players, while the team knows a thing or two about him, although much has changed since then. Cummings also observed that the preparation feels different this time: in the past three or four years used to pass between meetings with the New Zealand side, but now the teams played just a year ago, and the Scots know what to expect.