'In the past we might have lost that game' - McDowall on Maori All Blacks win

Yahoo

16 hours ago

Stand-in captain Stafford McDowall believes Scotland "might have lost that game" in the past, as his side held on for a famous victory over a relentless Maori All Blacks side.
The Scots had a 17-point lead at one stage in the second-half but saw that gap close to just three points by the full-time whistle.
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"Two teams chucking it all at each other for 80 minutes," was how McDowall described it. "You could see at the end, just from all the bodies.
"I'm just massively proud of the shift from the boys to dig in at the end against a real good team."
The Maoris had the visitors camped on their own line with the clock dead, but a huge defensive effort from Scotland turned the ball over and won the game.
"We talked at half time that we'd put ourselves in a good position to lead but we knew the Maoris would come back and chuck everything at us," McDowall added.
"They did that and we probably lost control for 20 minutes, and in the past we might have lost that game but proud of the boys for digging in and getting the job done."
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The Glasgow Warriors centre, 27, skippered in the absence of tour captain Rory Darge who was rested before games against Fiji and Samoa.
"We looked at this first game as an opportunity to launch this tour off to a good start. We're really proud of the effort of the boys, but also it's just a privilege to play here against this boys in front of a packed crowd."