Is time right for Scotland to finally beat New Zealand?

Long before Scotland had completed their rout of the USA at Murrayfield thoughts turned to the big one next Saturday, the arrival of the All Blacks for the first time in three years.

Scotland are in good fettle, not that anybody will go overboard on an 85-0 win against a side that Edinburgh, not to mind Glasgow, would have taken to the cleaners.

The big screen at Murrayfield had New Zealand's game with Ireland in Chicago live and a healthy number of punters stayed behind to watch it. What they saw was a stop-start first half dominated by a ridiculous red card issued to Tadhg Beirne.

What they also saw was a flat Ireland failing to make a line break all night, failing to score beyond the 51st minute, failing in their line-out five times in 46 minutes and failing to live with an All Blacks side that only really started putting it together in the final quarter. Up to that point, they were unremarkable save for the odd moment of class.

On top of that there was the sight of Scott and Jordie Barrett both going off injured. Word from the camp is that both are struggling to make it for Saturday.

In the aftermath, the great All Black, and now pundit, Jeff Wilson, summed up the victory in Chicago. "Ireland weren't very good, let's be honest," he said. "We just found a way to have two or three moments that were good enough to get us a comfortable win. Ireland didn't really threaten. I think Scotland will be better and England will be better."

Against the USA, the Scots were ruthless, doing what needed to be done and doing it well. It was a strong hit-out for the handful of players who will be involved next Saturday and a brilliant experience for those who won't be, like Liam McConnell, the rough diamond at six, who excelled on his debut. Only 21, it's going to be fun watching McConnell mature. His raw talent is terrific.

For the All Blacks, the biggest dogs will reappear. One hundred and twenty years ago Scotland faced New Zealand for the first time and, of course, they still haven't beaten them. That's 30 defeats and two draws. The last three losses in that sequence are probably the most painful of the lot.

In 2014, with Vern Cotter in charge, Scotland trailed by just one point with seven minutes to go, but succumbed to a 31-23 defeat.

Three years later was harder to take. A plague had descended on Scotland's loosehead props that autumn. Alasdair Dickinson, Allan Dell and Rory Sutherland were all injured. In came the unknown Darryl Marfo.

Gregor Townsend's team had a ton of in-game injuries. Stuart McInally, the hooker, had a spell at openside. Then, George Turner, the replacement hooker, had a spell at openside, too.

The look on Townsend's face after the game is still vivid. Dejection and disguised fury. Scotland trailed 22-10 with eight minutes left. The All Blacks were down to 14 men. Then, Kieran Read stopped a near-certain try with an act of chicanery that eluded referee Matthew Carley.

Scotland should have had a try and Read should have been off. It should have been a five-point game against 13 men for the remaining minutes of the contest. New Zealand escaped.

We don't relive the torment just for the laugh. These near-misses are there to remind everybody how savagely difficult it is to beat the All Blacks. The most recent defeat is, arguably, the most instructive of the lot.

It was the night Doddie Weir brought out the match ball with his three sons, a moment that's every bit as moving now, three years on, as it was then.

Scotland trailed by 14 points early in that game and then led by nine. They scored 23 unanswered points in 52 minutes against the All Blacks. Unprecedented. Then they lost their composure, gave away penalties, picked up a yellow card and lost the Test.

It was agonising and it was typical. The All Blacks had been out-played for large periods but when the chips were down they stayed calm and turned the screw, millimetre by millimetre.

It's what they did to Ireland on Saturday night. A decisive last 20 minutes won it. Their bench had huge impact, creatively and physically.

Townsend has some decisions to make with his starting team and other decisions to make in the composition of his bench. Does he go with a 6-2 split? To get more gnarled forwards entering the fray late on, the logic says yes. It's a gamble but one worth making. Scotland have to power-up.

There are things that Townsend will be sweating about. Blair Kinghorn has had virtually no break since the Lions tour. He played 80 minutes for Toulouse against Stade Francais on Saturday, his seventh game of the season. He's needed against the All Blacks, but is there a concern about his freshness?

In the interests of cohesion, and with respect to the flying claims of the excellent Rory Hutchinson, the midfield ought to be the pair of Glasgow powerhouses, Sione Tuipulotu and Stafford McDowall.

At half-back, cohesion will probably win the day again with Finn Russell partnering Ben White. Jamie Dobie has never been closer to shifting the order at nine, though. Dobie, along with Tom Jordan, might well be the two backs on the bench.

Zander Fagerson hasn't played since April. What are the chances that big man can just reappear and deliver the game of his life for close to 80 minutes? Well, he has to. Scotland could be sunk otherwise. Fagerson is that important.

The hope for the second-row is that Townsend starts to move towards a new era with Gregor Brown, a wonderful ball-carrier with belligerence and footwork, partnering Scott Cummings with Max Williamson's muscle coming off the bench.

Grant Gilchrist has been magnificent for Scotland, but it's time that Scotland kicked-on. Townsend is unlikely to agree. His back-row has two shoo-ins - Matt Fagerson at six and Jack Dempsey at eight. The seven jersey is between two brilliant operators, the firing Andy Onyeama-Christie and the recovering Rory Darge. Both should be in the 23, once again on the presumption that Darge is fit to play.

The bench is critical and a 6-2 gives Scotland more of a chance of dealing with New Zealand in that last quarter, the period of the game where they tend to pull away and win.

Rory Sutherland, George Turner and possibly Will Hurd up front. Williamson, Darge/Onyeama Christie and the most aggressive, belligerent, disagreeable nuisance you can find to join them. When at the peak of his powers, Magnus Bradbury, arguably, comes closest to fitting the bill.

A dangerous backline built to attack and a pack with extra biff. New Zealand are not particularly scary these days but they still have magic in their bones.

We're not supposed to say it out loud, but there's a chance for Scotland here. At their very best, a reason to believe. They've done the agony and the outrage in this fixture in recent years. Now is the time for something completely different. A win after 120 years? Whisper it.