Hat-trick record-breaker on what Scotland need against the All Blacks

Scotland have never beaten New Zealand in 120 years of trying but came close in the last meeting of the sides three years ago.

Gregor Townsend’s side led 23-14 going into the final quarter in 2022 after scoring 23 unanswered points between the 12th and 52nd minutes. However, New Zealand rallied and after Scotland replacement Jack Dempsey had been sinbinned, they scored tries through Scott Barrett and Mark Telea in the final 14 minutes to win 31-23.

Graham, who scored a try and had another ruled out because his foot was millimetres in touch, knows they must stay in the game for its duration.

Monkey on our back

“We can go toe-to-toe with anybody, but we need to be on our best,” stressed the winger. “That's for a full 80 minutes, but they're no mugs. They're an incredible team with the chemistry they've got behind them, so they're going to be coming here as favourites. Everyone knows we've got that monkey on our back, never beating them before, so it'll be very special.”

New Zealand finished runners-up to South Africa in the recent Rugby Championship and suffered their record defeat during the tournament, going down 43-10 to the Springboks in Wellington. They also lost to Argentina in Buenos Aires but Graham dismissed the notion that they were in any way diminished.

Asked if he felt the All Blacks’ aura was slipping, he said: “Not really, no. They've got quality across their whole team, they can swap boys in and out. They're world class. So, no, they're not really slipping at all. We know the challenge is coming on Saturday. It's exciting and I can't wait for it.”

Graham is coming to the boil at the right time. Since recovering from the ankle injury he sustained on his British and Irish Lions debut in Melbourne, he has scored in all three matches he has played. The winger from Hawick got one for Edinburgh in his comeback game against Munster, then two in the win over Benetton and then a hat-trick for Scotland in the 85-0 thrashing of the USA last Saturday.

Beating the record of Grand Slam great

The treble against the States was the fourth of his Scotland career, a new record, moving him one ahead of Ian Smith, the 1925 Grand Slam hero. It also drew him level with Duhan van der Merwe as the national’s men’s team’s top try-scorer of all time, on 34.

“I'm feeling good,” said Graham, whose previous Scotland hat-tricks came against Argentina, Romania and Fiji, the latter two being four-try hauls. “I always expect more from myself and want more, so I'll never be one to be happy with my game. In my head, I've got more in me and I can get better. But still, I'll keep my head down, keep working as hard as I can and try and improve week on week.

“The more running games you get, the more confidence you build, the better you feel, that's when you can go and get more touches and do more magical stuff on the pitch. For sure, the more games you play, it does build that confidence.”

A keen student of the game, the All Blacks fixture is one that holds special appeal for Graham who wishes Scotland could play them more often.

Prop called into squad

“Growing up you always want to play against the All Blacks - you don't get any bigger occasions,” said Graham. “It's going to be a special Murrayfield game. The atmosphere is going to be incredible, it's going to be a real buzz, building for it throughout the whole week, so that's exciting.

“I just wish we had the opportunity to play them more often and really test ourselves. I feel like if we played them more, that confidence would come back and we'd end up believing in ourselves even more, that we can't go toe-to-toe with these boys. Come Saturday, we need to be at our best. It's an exciting week and the boys will be right up for it.”

Meanwhile, Scotland have called prop Fin Richardson into their squad. The Glasgow Warriors player made his international debut in the summer tour win over Samoa and provides additional cover at tighthead after Will Hurd was ruled out with injury. Liam McConnell and Harri Morris, the Edinburgh pair who made their debuts against the USA have been released back to their clubs along with team-mate Ross Thompson.