'Can't wait': Scotland relish All Blacks visit as major injury update issued after thrashing USA

It was the national men’s team’s biggest win at Murrayfield and their third greatest margin of victory of all time.

Townsend knows the visit of New Zealand next Saturday is an altogether different proposition but is thrilled to be playing them again after a three-year gap.

“I can't wait actually,” said the coach. “We don't get to play them that often. I think we've only played twice in my time and they were both great occasions, very good games. We know we have to be close to our best to win but that's what we'll be working on in training this week.

“I did feel in terms of how the squad prepared, even in the pouring rain on Wednesday, you could tell there's an edge, that there's more leadership coming out from our players. The players are driving a lot of what we're doing in training. That will have to happen next week and we'll have to have the players driving a performance in those 80 minutes.”

Townsend hopes to have forwards Zander Fagerson and Rory Darge available for New Zealand as both continue their recoveries from knee injuries. Prop Elliot Millar Mills is also on the mend after a calf problem

“[Zander] trained last week,” said the coach. “He did all that was asked of him. We did live rugby on Wednesday and he was a big part of that - we just managed his minutes. Rory had a really good session on Friday and I was watching him closely. I think he's going to be passed to train fully next week. He's not been out as long. It looks like Elliot Millar Mills will be passed fit to train next week too. I'm hoping that we have a full squad to select from.”

‘Everyone is aware of step up next week’

Scotland have never beaten the All Blacks but have run them close in the last two meetings. They let slip a nine-point lead at Murrayfield in 2022 before being edged out 31-23. And five years before that they went down 22-17 in Edinburgh.

“Everybody's aware of the step up next week,” said Townsend. “You create your own intensity at training. And our players did that this week. If you think about the team that started tonight, who they would have been training against during the week, there were some of our most-capped players going up against that team.

“You've just got to deliver your actions, your performance, regardless of who the opposition is. But we obviously know New Zealand are going to test us in different ways than the USA weren't able to do.”

Scotland scored 13 tries, with Jamie Dobie and Darcy Graham both bagging hat-tricks. Duhan van der Merwe got a double and Dylan Richardson, Kyle Rowe, Stafford McDowall, George Horne and Ollie Smith all weighed in with one apiece. Graham’s treble means he has now drawn level with van der Merwe as Scotland men’s leading try-scorer. Each winger has 34.

There were memorable debuts for Liam McConnell, 21, and Harri Morris, 24, with the former particularly impressive, starting the game at six.

“He was excellent,” said Townsend. “It's very difficult to do that on your first cap. The first ten minutes of my own first cap were a nightmare. I missed tackles and it was all over the place. Liam has many strengths: his work rate, his speed, his defence. But also his attacking game’s really come on this year with his little tip passes, his evasion and link play. And he managed to be that set-piece, blindside flanker at lineout time and get a couple of steals.

“He also showed his fitness by being one of our best players in the last ten minutes as well as the first ten minutes.”

Morris, McConnell’s Edinburgh team-mate, came on for the final 18 minutes as replacement hooker. “I thought he was very good,” added Townsend. “He was controlled in his actions and was still able to bring that physicality that we know is a big strength of his. He had a couple of really good lineout throws and caught a high ball.

“And right at the end, his off the ball running line created a hole for Ollie Smith to go through and Ollie did very well to finish. He's another one with a big future. He's a bit older than Liam but whenever we've seen him play, he's delivered that level of physicality. It’s suited to Test level. But also he's really grown as a hooker.”

Adam Hastings, the Scotland stand-off failed a head injury assessment and had to go off at half-time.