In 2005 Murrayfield was the setting of the All Blacks' final step in a second sweep of the Home Unions.
Tonight a perfunctory 32-6 victory suggests Graham Henry's current side is tracking to emulate their predecessors.
Although often placed under extreme pressure by a committed Scottish side, the All Blacks never buckled.
Notably they held fast late in the first half when, undermanned by the sinbinning of lock Anthony Boric, they defended their line for more than seven minutes.
Raid after raid was repelled and as Scotland's players headed for the dressing room unrewarded the body language spoke volumes.
Scottish coach Frank Hadden articulated the collective disappointment engendered by the inability to erode an 18-6 deficit and then the almost instantaneous concession of a third try, a back breaker to centre Richard Kahui.
"I thought by failing to score before halftime and conceding immediately after halftime, it was always going to be tough," said Hadden as he appraised Scotland's 25th loss in 27 tests against their southern hemisphere nemesis.
Stalemates on Murrayfield in 1963 and 1983 continue to provide the only Scottish solace from 103-years of one-sided matches.
"We seemed to dominate the territory and the possession," Hadden said.
"I thought we played some good stuff, we created a lot of opportunities -- we won the line breaks nine to six but there is no denying when it came to actually finishing, New Zealand showed their class in that area."
Only once did they squander a try-scoring opportunity, when reserve fullbck Cory Jane dropped a pass from debut No 8 Liam Messam when practically over the tryline in the 60th minute.
Denied quality possession for much of the first half, the All Blacks settled on pilfering Scotland's -- turnovers were the basis of winger Anthony Tuitavake's maiden test try and a 25th minute score by halfback Piri Weepu.
Hadden noted the only All Blacks try that did not originate from a turnover was Kahui's killer blow less than 60 seconds into the second half when Paterson was too slow to react to Cory Jane's kick return.
Man of the match Kahui collected a kind bounce and raced 35-metres to the posts, outstripping Sean Lamont who strained a hamstring in the process.
The wing's departure summed up another demoralising experience for the home side, one that started ominously when second five-eighth Nick De Luca was sinbinned by English referee Wayne Barnes in just the third minute for cynical play at a breakdown.
The All Blacks duly added 10 points in his absence -- an example the Scots could not follow when Barnes sent Boric to the sideline for joining a ruck from an illegal angle in the 31st minute.
"Fair play to them for taking advantage there," Hadden admitted.
"When we had the one-man advantage we huffed and puffed but didn't seem to be able to cross the whitewash.
"We gave their defence a very tough examination and I thought their defence was absolutely outstanding, not just the front line, but the second line and the scramble -- they made it very difficult for us."
Hadden was not as enamoured with the All Blacks set piece however, suggesting Barnes was too lenient when a succession of scrums caved in when Scotland were pressing before the interval.
Henry took the opposite view, lauding his side's heart and character.
"There was very good defence at times when we were under the cosh," he said.
The All Blacks conceded 10 penalties to the Scots eight though only two were converted by Chris Paterson and Henry admitted the number of line breaks achieved by Scotland was a concern and an area requiring improvement before Saturday's test with Ireland in Dublin.
"We were a bit rusty, but it is this team's first game together," said Henry, of a lineup that featured 12 starting changes from the Bledisloe Cup winners in Hong Kong last weekend.
The three new caps Messam, Read and Jamie Mackintosh received honourable mentions, with assistant coach Steve Hansen singling out Read's "outstanding" performance on the blindside flank.
The All Blacks head to Ireland tomorrow and will meet Mils Muliaina at London's Heathrow Airport -- the fullback's return from parental leave a bonus after Isaia Toeava sustained a shoulder injury on the cusp of halftime.
Halfback Andy Ellis is nursing the second rib injury of his season after a 20-minute stint off the bench.
