New Zealand beat Scotland 43-21 at Murrayfield

New Zealand beat Scotland 43-21 at Murrayfield on November 7, scoring seven tries to three to open their Nations Championship campaign with a win. Scotland hooker Ewan Ashman scored a first-half hat-trick, but the All Blacks shut out the hosts after the break and added three tries of their own.

The teams went into halftime with New Zealand ahead 24-21 after a fast-scoring opening 40 minutes. Ashman scored all three of Scotland’s tries, each converted by Finn Russell. His hat-trick made him the first Scot reported to achieve the feat against New Zealand and only the fifth player overall to score three tries against the All Blacks.

New Zealand’s scorers were Wallace Sititi, Ethan de Groot, Peter Lakai, Beauden Barrett, Codie Taylor, Josh Moorby and Asafo Aumua, with Barrett scoring twice. Damian McKenzie converted four tries. Lakai and Sititi were shown yellow cards in the first half, but Scotland could not turn those periods with an extra player into a lasting advantage.

The match shifted after the interval. Moorby scored eight minutes into the second half, and Barrett crossed soon after, shortly after Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu was sent to the sin bin. Aumua added New...