Scotland v New Zealand

One defeat in an entire tour; Scotland fell among the many who could not stop them.

On 18 November 1905, the touring New Zealand side met Scotland at Inverleith in Edinburgh as part of their legendary tour of the British Isles, France and North America. The visitors won 12–7 in front of a captivated crowd. It was the first meeting between the two nations, and the All Blacks' reputation as a fearsome touring side was already well established; they would lose only one match on the entire tour, to Wales.

Scotland fell 18–8 to New Zealand at Murrayfield, by then a decade-old national ground, as All Blacks physicality and tactical discipline proved simply too much.

The All Blacks returned to Scotland in 1935 during their third tour of the British Isles. Scotland lost 18–8 at Murrayfield, which had replaced Inverleith as the national ground in 1925. The pattern was already set: New Zealand's physicality and tactical discipline proved too much for Scotland's spirited but outgunned sides. The fixture remained a rare occasion, with decades passing between meetings due to the logistics of southern hemisphere touring.

Eighty minutes of siege; nil each, and still no Scottish win to show for it.

Scotland came agonisingly close in January 1964, drawing 0–0 with Wilson Whineray's touring All Blacks at Murrayfield. It remains one of only two draws in the fixture's history. The Scots defended with extraordinary resolve on a bitterly cold Edinburgh afternoon, and for 80 minutes the All Blacks could not find a way through. A moral victory, perhaps, but the record books still showed no Scottish win.

Scotland's solitary draw on New Zealand soil dates to that goalless stalemate in 1975, and a first win remains as elusive as ever.

Scotland managed their second and, to date, final draw against New Zealand in 1975, finishing 0–0 once more at Auckland's Eden Park. It was a remarkable defensive effort on New Zealand soil, and it gave Scottish supporters genuine belief that a first win might be within reach. That belief has sustained them through the decades since, even as the victories have stubbornly refused to arrive.

Even Scotland's finest generation, three points from glory at Murrayfield, could not bend New Zealand to their will.

Scotland's 1990 Grand Slam side, captained by David Sole and featuring the likes of Gavin Hastings, John Jeffrey and Finlay Calder, was arguably the finest Scottish team ever assembled. Yet even they could not crack the All Blacks, losing 21–18 in a November test at Murrayfield. The margin was tantalisingly small, and the match underlined a recurring theme: Scotland's best is often not quite enough against New Zealand's relentless consistency.

Home soil, a knockout stage, and still Lomu and the All Blacks proved too much; Scotland's World Cup ended, as ever, in valiant defeat.

The 1999 Rugby World Cup quarter-final at Murrayfield offered Scotland their grandest stage yet to topple the All Blacks. Playing at home in a knockout match, the opportunity was there. New Zealand won 30–18, with Jonah Lomu scoring two tries. The All Blacks' power game was simply too much, and Scotland's World Cup ended where it so often does: with brave defeat and a sense of what might have been.

Six tries, forty points, not one scored in reply; the All Blacks settled their World Cup grievances at Scotland's expense.

The autumn 2007 test at Murrayfield was a low point. New Zealand ran in six tries in a 40–0 demolition, the heaviest defeat Scotland had suffered in the fixture. It was a sobering reminder of the gulf between the sides when Scotland are not at their best. The All Blacks, fresh from a shock World Cup quarter-final exit to France, took out their frustrations on a Scottish side that had no answer.

Scotland were minutes from rewriting 112 years of history at Murrayfield, pressing for the try that never came.

Gregor Townsend's Scotland came within a whisker of making history in November 2017, losing 22–17 at Murrayfield. Stuart Hogg, Finn Russell and Huw Jones led a thrilling Scottish performance that had the All Blacks rattled. With minutes remaining, Scotland were pressing for the try that would have rewritten 112 years of history. It did not come, but the match signalled that Scotland were closing the gap under Townsend's expansive coaching.

Thirty-three matches, zero victories; no tier-one nation has waited longer.

As of the 2025 autumn international at Murrayfield, Scotland's record against New Zealand stands at 0 wins, 2 draws and 31 defeats from 33 matches. It is the longest winless run any tier-one nation holds against another. And yet the fixture remains one of the most coveted tickets in Scottish sport. Every November, when the All Blacks arrive in Edinburgh, the city crackles with the possibility that this might finally be the year. The haka echoes off the Murrayfield stands, the crowd roars back, and for 80 minutes anything feels possible.