Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu was left lamenting his side's — and his own — ill-discipline after a 43-21 defeat by New Zealand in the teams' November Nations Championship opener at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Ewan Ashman became the first Scotland player to score a hat-trick of tries against New Zealand, the hooker's treble coming before half-time to give the hosts hope of a first win in this fixture.
The All Blacks only led 24-21 at the break but Scotland failed to score a point in a second half where Tuipulotu was sent to the sin-bin.
"We couldn't stick with them, it's really disappointing," Tuipulotu told STV.
"Our discipline wasn't good enough, and it starts with me. I got sent to the bin and 10 minutes with your captain off isn't good for any team.
"First half we were playing our rugby, putting them under pressure with ball in hand, in a way they haven't been put under pressure in a few weeks," the Australia-born centre said.
"We just weren't accurate enough when we got down the pitch."
The All Blacks scored seven tries in total, four in the opening 40 minutes alone, with Scotland coach Gregor Townsend echoing Tuipulotu's words by saying: "I was disappointed in the first half with how our indiscipline let New Zealand into our 22.
"Going down to 14 it was difficult to wrestle momentum back.
"If you can hold onto the ball in the modern game, you can get points. Second half we didn't do that well enough."
Townsend, himself a former Scotland playmaker, later suggested Tuipulotu had been dealt with harshly.
"I didn't think it was the right call against Sione being offside (for his yellow card) and then we didn't really get in the flow after that," he said.
Victory gave New Zealand a 32nd win in 34 Tests against Scotland, with two draws, dating back to 1905.
It also meant they remained unbeaten in the inaugural Nations Championship after a trio of wins in the southern hemisphere-based section in July.
This was a particularly emotional success for the All Blacks after Logan Cadwallader, their head of security, died at the team hotel in Edinburgh last Sunday.
"I'm proud because it was an important day for us," New Zealand coach Dave Rennie said.
"It's been a tough week with a massive emotional toll on the group."
New Zealand's convincing victory followed a pair of thumping wins over Australia that saw the All Blacks get back on track after a 3-1 series loss to world champions SA.
"We love playing this style of rugby, keeping the ball on the park," New Zealand outside centre Quinn Tupaea, who was named player of the match, said.
Beauden Barrett's two tries — the full-back struck either side of half-time — saw him become only the second man after teammate Will Jordan to score 50 tries in Tests for New Zealand.
"He (Barrett) is a special player," Tupaea said.
"I think he's second all-time in Tests now (for tries for New Zealand) so I'm pleased for the guy." — AFP
