In Finn Russell, they have one of the great sorcerers – a laid-back, creative genius at No 10 who knows how to make use of the supremely talented backline outside him, and Scotland may not be perennial winners, but they are now the game’s great entertainers.
And the relevance of this matters to the All Blacks, who aspire to be seen in much the same way but with the dual desire to be both consummate entertainers and consistent winners.
They are not chasing style over substance, but they certainly have ambition to play the game with a high degree of creativity that is underpinned by a high skill level.
Head coach Scott Robertson has said all year that his ambition is to preside over a dynamic, direct but physical game plan that enables the All Blacks to play at a high tempo and use the full width of the field.
There are many reasons why Robertson wants his All Blacks to play with vision and creativity, the most important being he thinks it best suits the athletes at his disposal and maximises the team’s chances of winning.
But so too does a free-wheeling All Blacks team suit the commercial narrative and the ambition to capture the hearts, minds and wallets of latent foreign rugby fans.
There is also, although this wouldn’t be a reason on Robertson’s list, an undeniable truth that an All Blacks coach who can produce imaginative and compellingly entertaining rugby has longer job expectancy.
Robertson’s mediocre – but improving – win ratio would be seen in a different light if it had come with greater reinvention of the All Blacks’ attack game.
The public mood remains lukewarm about Robertson’s All Blacks because the victories haven’t often been built on the high-skilled, fast, clever rugby that everyone has been promised, and while style isn’t the most important driver of mood, it certainly influences the way people feel about a team and its coach.
This is why the Scotland game carries weight beyond the result. The history between the two sides and their current gap in world rankings – No 2 versus No 7 – creates little potential upside for the All Blacks.
A victory is a non-negotiable expectation and the only way it can be sweetened is if the All Blacks can convince everyone at Murrayfield that they and not Scotland are the great entertainers.
It’s hard to see what advances the All Blacks will have made if they win, but Russell and his Harlem Globetrotter backline are what everyone is talking about.
If it’s Scotland who play all the rugby and capture the imagination, ultimately crushed by New Zealand’s obviously more powerful scrum, it will be an effective moral victory for the Scots and the doubts about the solidity and potential of this All Blacks team will continue to linger, despite another step being taken towards the Grand Slam.
And what’s adding to the pressure on the All Blacks to build a more invigorating and captivating brand of football is the way they played in the last quarter in Chicago.
It was, easily, the most fluid 20 minutes the All Blacks have produced in the Robertson era – a sustained period of sharp pass and catch where the ball went from touchline to touchline, players offloaded out of contact and the mix of power, precision, subtlety and adventure blew Ireland away.
This is precisely the sort of rugby the public wants to see more of and, assistant coach Jason Holland said, precisely the sort of rugby the All Blacks want to play more of.
“There were some skill errors in that first half which stopped us playing,” Holland said from the All Blacks’ training base at Merchiston Castle School.
“It wasn’t as if we played a different way from the first to the second half. We just got go-forward in the second half and we backed our skills and nailed them in the second half.
“Our pass-catch down the edge was pretty poor in the first half but we started to nail those things and had the confidence to hold on to the ball.
“That has been a big thing for us – we were prepared to go through an extra couple of phases. It is something we are striving for.”
Something about that last quarter has sparked an optimism that Robertson’s All Blacks are at last going to break free from the overly prescribed and clunky attack patterns they have been wedded to this year and trust more in the natural power of their athletes and instincts to see space and exploit it.
Edinburgh, dark and brooding with its ever-gloomy sky, is aesthetically at least an odd place for an All Blacks attacking renaissance, but spiritually and culturally it is the game’s current home of innovation and adventure.
Gregor Paul is one of New Zealand’s most respected rugby writers and columnists. He has won multiple awards for journalism and written several books about sport.
