Scotland have faced New Zealand 33 times since 1905 and have never won. A 25-25 draw on 12 November 1983, settled by a Jim Pollock try in the final minute, is the most recent of only two draws between the sides, after a 0-0 stalemate in 1964.
Kick-off at Scottish Gas Murrayfield is at 2:10pm local time. General admission has been sold out for weeks, with only hospitality packages left on Scottish Rugby’s books.
10 Glasgow Warriors in a home-tilted XV
Head coach Gregor Townsend has leaned heavily on his most in-form club side. Captain Sione Tuipulotu lines up at inside centre in a starting fifteen featuring 10 Glasgow Warriors, with Finn Russell at fly-half and a back row of Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge and Jack Dempsey behind a front row of Rory Sutherland, Ewan Ashman and Zander Fagerson.
Tuipulotu is bidding to lead Scotland to a first ever win against the All Blacks. Last November at the same ground, Scotland came back from 17-0 down at half-time to level the game before late brilliance from New Zealand replacement Damian McKenzie sealed a 25-17 defeat.
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A grieving tour party in white
The All Blacks will wear white jerseys with a poppy for Armistice Day and black armbands in memory of Logan Cadwallader, their head of security, who died suddenly at the team hotel in Edinburgh on Sunday 1 November after a medical event.
Cadwallader, who had been with the squad for 10 years and was a former New Zealand Special Air Service soldier who had served in Bosnia, East Timor, Afghanistan and the Solomon Islands, is survived by his wife Nannette and three children.
“It’s been a really tough week following Logan’s passing,” head coach Dave Rennie said when naming the team. “He was one of us, and he will be in our thoughts on Saturday.”
Codie Taylor captains the side from hooker. Jordie Barrett and loose-head prop Ethan de Groot both return from injury in the only changes to the starting XV, with Beauden Barrett at full-back and Will Jordan on the right wing.
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“No one wants to be part of the first”
Rennie knows the weight attached to the record. The last four meetings have all been tightly contested, and he told RNZ earlier this week that the fixture now carries a very specific pressure for the tourists.
“When we play at Eden Park, no one wants to be a part of losing there. I think deep down it’ll be the same here.”
Rennie said he preferred to frame the record as legacy rather than fear, adding that Scotland had been “able to pull it out of the fire” in the closing stages of recent meetings.
The match is round four of the Nations Championship, the first of three consecutive home weekends for Scotland. Scottish band The Snuts will play before kick-off, and world mile record-holder Josh Kerr will deliver the match ball.
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