All Blacks great Jeff Wilson is “pretty confident” Dave Rennie’s men will finish the year on a high and go through November beaten.

New Zealand are set to begin their northern leg of the Nations Championship by taking on Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday.

They have never lost to the Scots in their history and Wilson thoroughly expects that record to be maintained.

Despite a frustrating 3-1 series loss to the Springboks in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, they have enjoyed a positive 2026 under new boss Rennie.

Contrast to Bledisloe Cup matches

Although the 53-year-old knows it will be a very different test to their Bledisloe Cup encounters last month, he retains his belief that the All Blacks are going in the right direction.

“It’s a completely different challenge coming up going north, a different time of the year, different conditions and vastly different opposition,” he told Sport Nation.

“We matched up really well against the Wallabies. There’s a lot of history there and it gave us the confidence and belief to carry on what we’re doing.

“On the back of a really hard tour what you saw was the guys in and around that environment thrived and they’ve got real clarity about how they want to play.

“We’ve kicked on, now it’s whether or not we can finish the season strong.

“I’m pretty confident we can go through this next month unbeaten if we continue to do the things we’ve been working on.”

New Zealand have not necessarily had an easy ride at Murrayfield during their recent visits, including in 2025 when only a late rally secured a 25-17 victory in Edinburgh, but Wilson believes that they are in a different place under Rennie.

“I think we’ve made hard work of it ourselves in a lot of those Test matches. I don’t think we’ve come in energised and refreshed,” he said.

“Everyone’s concerned about the injuries, I think in some ways the injuries have allowed us to widen our squad and keep guys that little bit fresher.

“When you’re a happy group, and this is clearly a happy group, and they’re a well connected group and well, all of a sudden you will start getting those complete performances.

“When I say complete, for the All Blacks it’s about having another 25 minutes to score four tries, that’s the sort of thing they’ve been doing.

“That’s what is different about this group. It’s not as much as a grind. You get the sense it’s their ability to keep playing and create try-scoring opportunities, and we’re converting on them.”

Officiating concerns

Of course, there are certain things the All Blacks will not be able to control, with Wilson highlighting the officiating, but that was the only thing he could really spot that could prevent victory this weekend.

“I really like where this team is at, I really do,” he said. “I think Scotland are going to be plucky and there is no doubt that their squad has got some consistency and they will put up a real fight, but I just think we’re hard to contain right now.

“As long as we get some of that parity up front and we don’t get some of bizarre things that have been happening in the world of rugby in terms of officiating, I’m pretty comfortable with where we’re at.”