Scotland's wait for first win over New Zealand goes on after 43-21 defeat
Scotland lost 43-21 to New Zealand at Murrayfield, extending their wait for a first win over the All Blacks.
How it was covered
- BBC One carried 55% of the airtime and concentrated on Scotland's long wait and a competitive first half before New Zealand pulled away.
- Channel 4 concentrated on New Zealand's seven tries and a one-sided second half.
- Channel 5, GB News and ITV: not found in tracked broadcasts.
- BBC News: covered online, not found on air.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
Scotland's wait for a first win over New Zealand goes on after a 43-21 defeat at Murrayfield. New Zealand scored seven tries and pulled away in the second half. Scotland failed to add to their half-time total.
The first half was closely fought. Sky News reported that New Zealand led 24-21 at the break after Beauden Barrett crossed for their fourth try inside half an hour to secure the bonus point. Channel 4's sports reporter Jordan Jarrett-Bryan reported that Wallace Sititi gave New Zealand an early lead after three minutes and that Ewan Ashman drove over in response. BBC News described Ashman's hat-trick as taking Scotland within touching distance at half-time, while Channel 4 reported that he had scored his second try of the match.
After the break New Zealand took control. Sky News reported that Asafo Aumua scored their seventh try and that Scotland now face Australia next weekend. BBC News said Scotland failed to score a point in the second half. Channel 4 described the second period as one-sided and noted that New Zealand had a man sent to the sin bin in the first half.
The channels differed on the length of Scotland's run without a win. BBC News said Scotland had never beaten New Zealand in their 33 previous meetings. Channel 4 put the run at 34 attempts before this match, while Sky News described it as a 121-year wait. All agreed this defeat extended it.
Wales beat Japan 28-21 in Cardiff in the later match. Joe Currie said in his BBC News report that the win was not convincing but was enough. Channel 4 and Sky News gave the same final score. Sky News said Josh Adams sealed the bonus point with his second try after the break. Channel 4 reported that Adams had given Wales the lead with a try after a slick passing sequence.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim | BBC ONE West, BBC News |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Widely reported · 3 or more of 4 channels | ||||
| Ewan Ashman scored a hat-trick for Scotland. | BBC ONE West, BBC NewsReported by BBC ONE West, BBC News | Reported by Channel 4 | ||
| Scotland were beaten 21-43 by New Zealand at Murrayfield. | BBC ONE West, BBC NewsReported by BBC ONE West, BBC News | Reported by Channel 4 | ||
| Scotland failed to score any more points in the second half after their half-time total. | Not reported by BBC ONE West, BBC News | Reported by BBC One | ||
| Scotland remain without a win over New Zealand, continuing their long wait for a first victory. | Not reported by BBC ONE West, BBC News | Reported by Channel 4 | ||
| Reported by a few · 2 channels | ||||
| New Zealand scored seven tries. | Not reported by BBC ONE West, BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | ||
| New Zealand scored three unanswered tries in the second half. | BBC ONE West, BBC NewsReported by BBC ONE West, BBC News | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Only on one channel | ||||
| Beauden Barrett secured New Zealand's bonus point by scoring their fourth try inside 30 minutes. | Not reported by BBC ONE West, BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | |
| Wallace Sititi scored after three minutes. | Not reported by BBC ONE West, BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Sky News | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Joe Currie's report framed the defeat around history and atmosphere, opening with a line about a sound that carries history and stressing Scotland's long wait. It gave a narrative of a competitive first half and a one-sided second, and the later bulletin widened the round-up to include Wales' 28-21 win over Japan. The channel also described Ewan Ashman's hat-trick, a detail not matched by Channel 4's account.
- “A sound that carries history.”
- “Their wait for a first win goes on.”
- “Ashman's hat-trick taking them to within touching distance at half-time.”
Channel 4's sports reporter Jordan Jarrett-Bryan gave a detailed match narrative, highlighting New Zealand's seven tries and the contrast between an action-packed first half and a one-sided second. It also noted a sin-bin for New Zealand and included the later Wales-Japan result. It put Scotland's run at 34 unsuccessful attempts before the match.
- “Seven tries from the All Blacks saw them eventually blow the hosts away”
- “Scotland haven't been victorious over New Zealand in 34 attempts”
- “An action-packed first half, but a one-sided second”
Sky News gave a compact round-up, leading with the 121-year wait and the 24-21 half-time score. It named Beauden Barrett's bonus-point try and Asafo Aumua's seventh try, then set out the next fixtures for Scotland and New Zealand. The tone was factual and score-led, with less colour than the BBC or Channel 4 reports.
- “Scotland's 121-year wait for a first ever win over New Zealand goes on.”
- “They led 24-21 at the break.”
- “Beauden Barrett sealed the bonus point when he crossed the line with their fourth try inside half an hour.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.