The Scotland party leave for home tomorrow after losing the test series 2-0 and having suffered a record defeat in the first of these two encounters. Yet, despite the damaging statistics, the mood in the camp on the eve of departure was by no means all black.
"We've taken a group of players further forward than they were five weeks ago, and the tour has exposed to New Zealand rugby a number of exciting new players," said Ian McGeechan, the Scotland coach.
For McGeechan, the priority is to build on what has been achieved in a developmental sense with the 37 players in the tour party. "I'm adamant that I want to keep regular contact with this group. I want to keep going the thinking, the practice, the rugby intensity and the understanding we've built up on this tour," said McGeechan.
To that end, the Scotland coach will be hugely encouraged by the news that Leicester's wing Craig Joiner has become the latest England-based Scot to opt for a return north of the border. The 26-year-old Joiner is joining Edinburgh Reivers.
Graham Shiel, the former Melrose centre who toured New Zealand in 1990 and 1996, was played at inside-centre on Saturday and, in the event, the selection proved to an inspired one, suggesting that the Shiel-Gregor Townsend midfield combination could be a useful pairing.
"Graham is now playing the best rugby of his career. But I've always said that the more genuine rugby players you have on the field, the more confidence there is on the ball and the more flexibility you have," said Greechan.
It was the All Blacks' ability to score long-range tries that was the undoing of Scotland. "They have the ability to turn good rugby into lethal rugby," observed McGeechan.
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