Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu has accepted responsibility for his team's disappointing 43-21 defeat to New Zealand, admitting that poor discipline played a major role in their inability to secure a historic victory over the All Blacks.

Scotland hosted New Zealand at Murrayfield on Saturday, November 7, in their opening Nations Championship encounter, hoping to end their long wait for a first victory against the rugby giants.

The hosts made an encouraging start and remained firmly in contention during an entertaining first half. Hooker Ewan Ashman produced an outstanding performance, scoring a hat-trick of tries to keep Scotland within touching distance of their opponents.

Despite New Zealand receiving two yellow cards in the opening half, the visitors managed to establish a narrow 24-21 advantage at the interval.

However, Scotland struggled to maintain their momentum after the break, failing to score another point as the All Blacks took control and registered 19 unanswered points to complete a convincing victory.

Tuipulotu's situation became particularly difficult when he was sent to the sin-bin in the 50th minute following a series of disciplinary issues.

Speaking after the match, the Scotland skipper did not attempt to shift responsibility away from himself, acknowledging that his absence for 10 minutes significantly affected the team.

"Our discipline wasn't good enough, and it starts with me. I got sent to the bin, and 10 minutes with your captain off isn't good for any team. I take full responsibility for that," Tuipulotu admitted.

The centre also lamented Scotland's lack of accuracy when they entered New Zealand's 22-metre area, arguing that they failed to take advantage of several opportunities.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend shared his captain's concerns, admitting that indiscipline and unnecessary errors allowed New Zealand to gain momentum.

The defeat extended Scotland's winless record against the All Blacks to 34 meetings, with New Zealand maintaining their remarkable unbeaten record in the fixture since 1905.

Scotland will now turn their attention to Australia, with Tuipulotu describing the upcoming encounter as a must-win opportunity as they attempt to recover from the disappointing opening result.

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