A heart-breaking finish and a desperately cruel result, but a performance to lift the spirits.

Scotland played fast and fearless rugby at BT Murrayfield last night, and the All Blacks were gasping with relief at the end. The world champions played in fits and starts and only put the game away when Jeremy Thrush scored their second try with 74 minutes on the clock.

Colin Slade's conversion gave the All Blacks their eight-point margin. It was the closest Scotland had got to the New Zealanders since the World Cup in 1991, when they lost the third-place play-off 13-6. And it is worth remembering that that was with the core of the side that had won the Grand Slam the previous year, and is routinely described as the best Scottish team in history.

Of course, allowances can be made for the fact the Scots were up against a team largely made up of second-choice players, one that would have All Blacks of the past spinning in their graves over the number of mistakes they made. It would be ridiculous to suggest that a full-strength side would not have won comfortably, but it would also be a denial of the obvious to ignore the fact Scotland have made huge strides under new coach Vern Cotter.

Cotter might just have earned the right to experiment with the team that takes on Tonga in Kilmarnock next weekend, but he will no doubt be aware that Andy Robinson's reign was ended by the Pacific Islanders two years ago. Beyond that, the country can look forward with relish to the RBS 6 Nations. Scotland's players have come out of their shells this month, and the rest of Europe will not treat them lightly.

The contrast with the mood in the camp at the end of this year's Six Nations could hardly be more stark. Then, the Scots had just been humiliated by Wales, but they have recovered that ground and more. There is belief, and boldness, now. Against the best rugby nation on earth, they were happy to stand toe-to-toe.

Will they view it this morning as a chance lost? Greig Laidlaw will be haunted by the penalty he missed in the 69th minute, for it would have put the Scots in front had he nailed it. Goodness knows if it would have been enough to secure a long-craved win since the All Blacks were misfiring so badly that it is far from certain they would have been able to get their noses back in front.

Most of Scotland's heroes were in the pack. The Gray brothers delivered another immense display, and it is questionable whether any of the All Blacks have faced a player who tackles as hard as Rob Harley. Adam Ashe made one daft knock-on, but his progress remains steady.

Behind the scrum, Laidlaw had another splendid game, but fly-half Finn Russell coughed up cheap possession with some rash kicks. Tommy Seymour collected his try cleverly, while the veteran Sean Lamont ran like a spring lamb after coming on to replace hamstring injury victim Mark Bennett early in the game.

That was in the 11th minute, by which point Scotland had already traded tries with the All Blacks. The New Zealanders claimed theirs first, with No 8 Victor Vito brushing off tackles as he charged in after nine minutes, but it should not have stood as Richie McCaw was guilty of a knock-on in the build-up.

Yet the New Zealand captain was to get his just deserts a couple of minutes later when he stepped into a move the All Blacks were trying to build from deep. McCaw had two men outside him, and if he had managed to pass to either then Scotland would have been in deep trouble. Instead, he passed to Seymour, who matched his interception try against Argentina last weekend by racing away for his score.

The rest of the half was fiendishly close. Carter clipped over a couple of penalties to put the All Blacks 11-7 ahead just after the half-hour, but Laidlaw's first penalty cut the margin to a point. That might have been a fair reflection at the break, but Carter landed a third penalty before the interval to put his team 14-10 up.

Yet the Scots came out of the traps at full speed. Waves of attack were reflected by waves of noise in the stands, and with more accuracy they could well have put a player through. As it was, Laidlaw scored with another penalty, and the feeling that history might just be made began to grow. Concerted All Blacks pressure dampened it a little, but the New Zealanders made no impact on the scoreboard in the third quarter. Laidlaw and Colin Slade exchanged penalties soon after that point, and everything was still up for grabs as the match went into its final stages.

It would be harsh to say that Thrush did not deserve his try, for it came after a period of extended All Blacks pressure. To the victors the spoils, as they say, but the losers probably had more reason to feel satisfied last night.