Scotland forwards coach John Dalziel says his team have emerged stronger from their heartbreaking 2022 loss to the All Blacks as they look to make history at Murrayfield on Saturday.
The Scots have never beaten New Zealand but came agonisingly close in their most recent meeting when they led 23-14 going into the last quarter before eventually succumbing to a 31-23 defeat.
Dalziel, who has returned to the Scotland camp after joining the British and Irish Lions tour in the summer, said: “I think a lot of growth and learning will be around how we stay on track, how we build on leads when we have them like that.
“I suppose the mental toughness side of it – how we can make sure, if we get back in that position with 20 minutes to go on the clock, that we can see it home?”
Scotland have good reason to be confident of finally ending their winless streak, with the All Blacks arriving in Edinburgh on the back of a relatively underwhelming win over below-par Ireland at the weekend.
In addition, injuries to both Scott and Jordie Barrett have robbed New Zealand of two key men against the Scots, who brimmed with confidence during a one-sided 85-0 warm-up win over the United States.
“I think there’s been a huge stigma with the All Blacks in the past and a lot of teams have built that up,” added Dalziel.
“We’re really trying to focus on ourselves, on the game and what we build, and that’s really been the approach this campaign, so we’ll keep it that way.”
In contrast to the All Blacks’ injury worries, Dalziel intimated that Zander Fagerson could return to the Scotland side after being ruled out since April with a series of injuries, while Rory Darge could also return.
“Both of them (made) big strides last week,” added Dalziel. “Obviously Zander’s been out for a long period of time.
“It’s a long time out and I know we all want to see him back as soon as possible and we’re hopeful that he’ll be back on track but we’ll do the right thing with him and see how he is to train tomorrow.”