By Thomas McGuigan
The Scots struggled to cope with New Zealand's relentless attacks
Scotland (0) 0 New Zealand (20) 40
Tries: McCaw, Howlett (2), Kelleher, Williams, Carter
Cons: Carter (2)
Pens: Carter (2)
Scotland failed to score against a dominant New Zealand in a one-sided World Cup encounter at Murrayfield.
The All Blacks ran in tries from Richie McCaw, Doug Howlett - his two making a new All Black career record 48 - Byron Kelleher, Ali Williams and Dan Carter.
The tournament favourites eased off after the break and did not fully capitalise on their superiority.
A Scotland side featuring 13 changes to the side which defeated Romania failed to create anything of note.
Scotland had failed to beat the All Blacks in their previous 25 attempts.
But they placed a higher priority on beating Italy next Saturday - a result which is vital if they are to come second in their group - and named a second-string side with new caps.
Only Chris Paterson, who moved to fly-half, and Simon Webster on the wing, were retained from that game.
The All Blacks welcomed back captain Richie McCaw and fly-half Dan Carter.
Centre Conrad Smith, Chris Masoe and lock Williams were the only survivors from the Portugal game.
New Zealand, wearing silver and black instead of their famous black shirts, looked razor sharp from kick-off.
McCaw touched down in the fifth minute after collecting a clever inside pass from Rodney So'oialo at the back of the scrum.
Carter kicked his first conversion of the day, as the Scots looked set for a long afternoon.
Paterson looked to reply immediately for the Scots, but his drop-kick missed right of the posts.
Doug Howlett touches down for his 47th try for the All Blacks
The Scots were unable to make any headway into New Zealand territory in the opening quarter.
Howlett had a simple run-in for New Zealand's second try when he took Leon McDonald's pass, moving clear of Christian Cullen's previous record of 46 tries for New Zealand.
Scotland's frantic defending was struggling to keep the relentless New Zealand attacks at bay.
Hugo Southwell's kick was then charged down as the home fans in the stands groaned.
Carter added a penalty after 24 minutes to make it 15 for the All Blacks as the Scots prayed for some respite.
But the All Blacks were showing no mercy and Kelleher got the third try of the first half after Masoe tenaciously broke through a couple of tackles.
Carter was uncharacteristically poor with the boot as he missed another conversion but the number 10 added another penalty minutes after the re-start.
Dan Carter had a miserable day with the boot for New Zealand
Carter then saw a penalty rebound off the upright and Howlett failed to capitalise when he looked set to score his second try of the game.
There was controversy after 55 minutes when McCaw passed to Carter for a kick at goal - a decision which did not go down well with the Murrayfield crowd.
Williams raised the try count when he held off three spirited challenges on the right before touching down.
Carter's miserable day with the boot continued, but he offered some cheer when he pounced on Nikki Walker's handling error and sprinted under the posts.
He made no mistake with the conversion as the Scots must have longed for full-time.
The All Blacks offered a glimpse of their best when Howlett raced away from the leg-weary Scots for his second try of the day and 48th for his country.
Carter missed the conversion to ensure the margin of victory did not creep nearer the half century.
Scotland: Southwell, Walker, Di Rollo, Henderson, Webster, Paterson, Cusiter, Dickinson, Lawson, Smith, MacLeod, Murray (capt), Brown, Callam, Barclay.
Replacements: Thomson, Kerr, Hamilton, Hogg, Lawson, Parks, Dewey.
New Zealand; MacDonald; Howlett, Smith, McAlister, Sivivatu; Carter, Kelleher; Woodcock, Oliver, Hayman, Thorne, Williams, Masoe, McCaw (capt), So'oialo.
Replacements: Hore, Tialata, Jack, Lauaki, Leonard, Evans, Toeava.
Las tres mayores naciones del Hemisferio Sur, Australia y Nueva Zelanda (junto con Sudáfrica que se había llevado el pase ayer), se aseguraron el pase a cuartos de final en la Copa Mundial de Rugby 2007.

=== Australia – Fiji ===

Los Wallabies marcaron siete tries mientras se aseguraban el puesto uno en el Grupo B con una victoria de 55–12 sobre el seleccionado de Fiyi. Con tries de Adam Ashley-Cooper y Stephen Hoiles, dos de Matt Giteau y una tripleta de D Mitchell, Australia ganó un rotundo partido. Fiyi solamente marcó con Isoa Neivua y Aca Ratuva pero nunca representaron una amenaza para Australia.



=== Nueva Zelanda – Escocia ===

Por su parte, los All Blacks de Nueva Zelanda no concedieron un punto al seleccionado de Escocia luego de una victoria total de 40–0 para llegar a la primera posición del Grupo C. Escocia peleó duro contra la dominante Nueva Zelanda, que marcó seis tries. Richie McCaw, Doug Howlett (2), Byron Kelleher, Ali Williams y Daniel Carter fueron quienes marcaron para los All Blacks.