Darge primed to make new All Blacks memories

Watching a madcap game swing from a 0-17 half-time scoreline to see Scotland threaten a first-ever win against their opposition, the Glasgow Warrior knows that for his side to be on the right side of history this afternoon, they need to keep belief in a sport in which things can change in a matter of minutes.

Recalling the match, the 26-year-old said: “It was different because I was on the bench and with being an openside, typically you’re either starting or not involved, so I’ve not had many bench appearances, so it was a different experience. There’s a lot of build-up to these games because of the team that they are, and it was my first game back from injury, so it was a big week emotionally.

“And yeah, the game was a bit unusual, although these momentum swings are becoming more common in rugby. Teams are scoring more points which means momentum is easier to shift; being 14 or 21 points up is not the same as it was, when previously you could see out a game.

“Being on the bench and seeing these shifts, your role changes a bit, but just to feel Murrayfield, especially during that period when we were really coming back into the game, was brilliant. Actually, when you watch the reviews back with the sound on, you actually believe that we’re going to do it, which of course we didn’t. But it looks like that with the footage because of how we were on top.”

Alas, video footage does not how Scotland recovering from that interval deficit to take the spoils, and an elusive first win over the All Blacks remains one of the country’s sporting Holy Grails.

Pictured: Rory going over for a try in the Guinness Six Nations match between Ireland and Scotland at the Aviva Stadium, 14 March 2026

Rory grew up watching international games and was in the crowd for one such New Zealand fixture, when he was in his mid-teens and Scotland lost 16-24 at Murrayfield despite a Tommy Seymour intercept try and nine points from the boot of Greig Laidlaw.

He said: “I remember going to watch a game, I think it was about 2014, at Murrayfield and the atmosphere was just incredible. I was still at high school so I’d have been playing for North Berwick, maybe involved with a council programme in East Lothian as well as the very early age grade stuff – no expectations back then!

“I can’t remember all the exact games, but I do remember growing up and seeing those All Blacks teams with Richie McCaw and how iconic he was. Flanker was always my position so when I was watching him, with everything he brought to being an openside. “The All Blacks as a team, they’re just so well known and exciting to watch, and dominant. There was always that thing that got bandied about, that they were the most ‘winningest’ team, 90% win rate, so that was always in my earliest memories of them.”

You can read the interview in full in this Saturday’s Scotland v New Zealand matchday programme, available at the game or online here.