The first match of the All Blacks' Grand Slam tour was like most games between Scotland and the New Zealanders.
Scotland was all aggression, and was solid in the set piece, but ultimately not good enough.
The All Blacks, on the other hand, did enough to win the game, and not much else.
It really suffered from a lack of ball, and territory.
The visitors, packed with new boys and second-stringers, tried to chance their arm but tenacious Scottish defence, combined with poor All Blacks handling, kept them to four tries.
And really, was the result going to be anything else?
The All Blacks were never going to put up a cricket score.
It was the first game of the United Kingdom leg of the tour, the side had not played together, the weather affected handling, and the Scottish defence was resolute.
And what was going on in those scrums was anyone's guess.
Why is it as soon as a referee from the northern hemisphere gets involved, the scrum becomes an absolute nightmare?
The scrum should be a contest but not the only contest.
New Scottish co-coach, former Otago captain Mike Brewer, will have his hands full in the next few months trying to find a way to make Scotland better.
But the one thing the Scottish side lacks, and one thing New Zealand rugby has, and always has had, is players with vision.
Rugby, thanks goodness, is not that typecast that every play can be evaluated and worked out on the training field.
No matter how many weights someone lifts, rugby still needs individual skills and talent on the playing field to help win games - to recognise overlaps, when to kick, and when not.
That skill is uncoachable, and unfortunately neither the Scottish, nor many of the other northern hemisphere players, have it. Many of the All Blacks have, and that is why the side in black won yesterday.
Wayne's world: When the All Blacks won the World Cup in 1987, the referee in the final was Kerry Fitzgerald.
It is a question asked in sport quizzes.
Twenty-one years on everyone knows who the referee is.
Why is that ?
Perhaps in the culture of celebrity the referee is no longer an anonymous official.
Yesterday's whistler, the infamous Wayne Barnes, was pretty clear to see in his nice red jersey, although some of his decisions were a little less obvious.
His handling of the scrums was poor, he missed crooked line-out throws, and his policing of the breakdown was average.
But he did one good thing - sin-binning Scottish second five-eighth Nick De Luca for a cynical play to disrupt All Black ball, even if the game had barely started.
If you cheat, no matter in the first or last minute, there is only one place to spend the next 10 minutes.
STAR ALL BLACK: Ma'a Nonu has come a long way in a year. Slated as too one-dimensional by his critics, he has become a rock in the backline, and may prove a handful for defenders on this tour. His own defence has also improved considerably.
ROOKIE WATCH: Kieran Read had a top debut, while Liam Messam grew into his work. Jamie Mackintosh had it tough in the scrums but they were a mess and the Southlander will be better for the experience.
QUESTION: Just where did Stephen Donald get his kicking style from?
