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'Entirely different to what the referees asked for': All Blacks assistant on South African TV director's influence
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Lion urges Scotland to put 'big teams to the sword' ahead of All Blacks
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Scott Cummings believes a first ever victory over New Zealand on Saturday would represent a significant shot in the arm for Scotland.
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The Scots have never beaten the All Blacks in 32 meetings over the past 120 years, although Gregor Townsend’s side did hold a 23-14 lead after an hour before losing 31-23 in the most recent clash in 2022.
Having pulled off some long-awaited away victories over England, France and Wales in recent years, Cummings hopes they can produce another landmark result against the most illustrious team in world rugby.
“We’re obviously trying to grow as a team and as a squad and I think it’s about us trying to take a couple more of those big teams to the sword,” said the second-rower.
“We’ve done it a couple of times to some of the Six Nations teams, but when you look at South Africa, New Zealand, some of those powerhouses, we haven’t quite got there with them yet.
“The last game against New Zealand three years ago, for example, we pushed them close but didn’t get the result. It’s definitely something we’re focusing on as a team. It’s a big game for us.
“These are the games you want to play in. These are the ones that everyone is excited to play in. Everyone is ready and has had this earmarked as one of those huge games for us.
“It’s obviously one of the matches that we’re targeting as a big match for us. Whenever you play one of those top four or five teams in the world, it’s going to be a big occasion at Murrayfield and I’m really excited for it.”
Cummings made his first appearance for Scotland in almost a year in Saturday’s 85-0 rout of the United States after missing the Six Nations through injury and the summer tour while on duty with the British and Irish Lions.
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The 28-year-old, who has spent his whole career with Glasgow, said he learned “loads” with the Lions.
“It’s probably the first time I’ve been in a really different environment,” he said. “Being in the Scottish system for my whole life, I’ve had similar coaches all the way through. Obviously, there’s some chop and change there, but we’ve always kind of played one way.
“And to go into a completely different system and learn how that works, how other players view the game and learn things from them – the coaches and the players – there were hundreds of learnings over the summer.
“It was such a great experience and I’ve definitely taken a lot from it.”
