Autumn Internationals: Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw targets victory against New Zealand

Image: Greig Laidlaw: Kicked 14 points in Scotland's win over Argentina

Greig Laidlaw believes Scotland can cause a shock against New Zealand on Saturday if they execute their game plan perfectly.

Scotland have never beaten the All Blacks in 29 Tests but captain Laidlaw believes the world champions can be made to look ordinary.

Steve Hansen's side were pushed close by England at Twickenham last weekend before edging to a 24-21 win, but Laidlaw has taken heart from the sloppy mistakes which marred their first-half display.

The scrum-half said: "England put a lot of good line-speed on New Zealand in their defence and it showed a couple of times that the All Blacks can come up with errors just like everybody else. They are not superhuman.

"Having said that, they came back with a great second half and it was a good victory for them. We in the Scotland team know how hard it is to go down to Twickenham and win. We are under no illusions.

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"But we have had a look at the tapes and come up with some things that can help us. Hopefully that might do the trick. We will wait and see."

He added: "We are going to have to be at 100 per cent to come anywhere close to winning the game. We have to be ready for whatever is thrown at us.

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"But we also have to be ready to have a go at them as well. We have to try and put the All Blacks under pressure when we can."

Expansive

The Scots march into their second autumn Test in buoyant mood following last weekend's 41-31 win over Argentina.

Five tries on new coach Vern Cotter's home debut highlighted the new expansive style the Kiwi is trying to implement.

England put a lot of good line-speed on New Zealand in their defence and it showed a couple of times that the All Blacks can come up with errors just like everybody else. They are not superhuman.
Greig Laidlaw

Laidlaw himself looked a different player to the one who plodded through the Six Nations earlier this year. With orders to get the ball moving quicker from the breakdown, the Gloucester No 9 was the architect of two scores and added 14 points with the boot.

"It was up there with my best performances in a Scotland jersey," said Laidlaw, who captains the side again this weekend as Grant Gilchrist continues his recovery from a broken arm.

"I was happy with how we all played. We were a little bit disappointed with some of the tries we conceded but we scored 41 points and some nice tries and overall we were in control of the game, so we are happy.

"Vern has given us the confidence to go and play and you saw that at the weekend. It is credit to him and his coaching staff for putting that performance together.

"But we have got our feet firmly fixed on the ground. We were extremely happy with the win over Argentina but it will be a different test altogether against the All Blacks."

Among the expected Scotland line-up who will stare down the Haka on Saturday will be two men who were born on New Zealand's North Island.

But Laidlaw dismissed the notion that Sean Maitland and Blair Cowan may suffer from divided loyalties.

"I've got no worries about that," he said. "They should be firmly focused on pulling on that Scotland jersey and wearing it with pride and passion."

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