IT was something that has not happened often at the top level since rugby went professional in 1995 but Scotland last Saturday defied the odds and almost created one of the biggest upsets before going down 22-17 to the All Blacks.
Their preparations obviously boosted their determination before a sellout crowd of 67,000 at Murrayfield and despite missing 13 regulars including captain Greig Laidlaw, they held the world champions to 3-3 at halftime and could have had more points had they been more clinical.
Instead it was the All Blacks who capitalised on their limited chances to score two tries within 17 minutes of the restart. On previous occasions Scotland were known to capitulate after something like that, with the score 15-3 in favour of the visitors but this was where the new Scotland differed from their predecessors.
First they narrowed the gap through a try to Jonny Gray and after Beauden Barrett had restored the margin for the All Blacks back to 12, Huw Jones scored another try to set up a tense final 13 minutes.
The Scots were to be denied at least a draw when outstanding fullback Stuart Hogg was bundled into touch by Barrett a mere four metres from the goal-line and threw the ball forward as he was being pushed out.
As the All Blacks regroup and prepare for what could be another enthralling encounter with Wales in Cardiff this Saturday, their coach Steve Hansen has asked the Scots to up themselves to become a force in world rugby.
They knew the Scots were going to be tough, especially after looking at their record in the last two seasons and that Scotland never gave up even for a minute was proof of this.
For the All Blacks it was another Test punctuated by errors and indiscipline, especially towards the end of the 80 minutes, due to the relentless pressure a few metres away from their goal-line as Scotland went looking for that decisive try between or near the posts.
There were positives though from the All Blacks game even when they are not at their best, with try-scoring made to look easy. They could have run away with the score from the 70th minute and save themselves some anxious moments later but mistake in the final pass after two breakaway runs denied them this.
But as is usual for a team that has been dominating the sport and has won the last two World Cups, the focus by commentators tends to be on the negatives, the errors.
Fiji came close to upsetting an under-strength Ireland in Dublin, first to level the score at 17-17 after Ireland had led 17-3 before bowing out 23-20, while Wales, also without some first-choice, managed to beat second-tier Georgia only 13-6 in Cardiff but no one took much notice of these results.
This weekend Scotland will have one last opportunity this autumn before the international season takes a break to show the world what they can do when taking on Australia on Saturday.
The Wallabies may have won three of their last five meetings but the scores from all five do not show much of a gap between them.
In June 2012 it was Scotland that upset Australia 9-6 away, followed by also an away 21-15 win by Australia in November 2013.
The next game – in the quarter-final of the 2015 World Cup – ended in much controversy in favour of Australia by a score of 35-34. A chance for revenge came in November last year at Murrayfield but it was heartbreak again for Scotland as it lost by yet another one point – 23-22.
However success finally came the way of the Scots as they won 24-19 in Sydney last June.
On this tour the Wallabies so far have two win, including one against Japan, and one defeat and last weekend at Twickenham allowed England to score three late tries to go down meekly 30-6.
It’s going to be a test of character for both teams but it could be yet another proud afternoon for the Scots.