All Blacks overcome three yellow cards to stay unbeaten against Scotland

EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — New Zealand preserved a 120-year unbeaten record against Scotland after winning a gripping contest 25-17 at Murrayfield on Saturday.

The All Blacks blew a 17-0 halftime lead and overcame three yellow cards to win their 33rd test with Scotland.

Scotland fought back to tie the score on 17 with a quarter to go. The Scots were held up over the line twice and knocked-on on the try-line twice.

The game wasn't decided until the 74th minute. The All Blacks waived a penalty shot for an attacking lineout, drove it the line and and threw it to the backs. Damian McKenzie produced a spectacular finish when he braked near the left corner flag, threw off Scotland's Blair Kinghorn and slipped George Horne, and somehow contorted to score on his back.

“Bit of luck,” was how he described it to broadcaster TNT.

McKenzie couldn't convert his try but added a long-range penalty to quell any Scotland comeback hopes.

After beating Ireland in Chicago, the All Blacks were halfway to a Grand Slam of the home unions with England next at Twickenham.

For all the amazing defense, both All Blacks tries in the first half were softly conceded.

Lock Josh Lord, playing in place of injured captain Scott Barrett, broke away on halfway from a ruck not covered by Scotland and offloaded for scrumhalf Cam Roigard to finish in the third minute.

Then right on halftime, the All Blacks ran the short side and Wallace Sititi was wide open. He dummied Darcy Graham and set up Will Jordan's 44th test try.

In between, Scotland survived a five-minute siege under a yellow card warning, and the All Blacks held up the Scots twice on their own try-line. Graham was denied by Ardie Savea and Caleb Clarke, and Rory Hutchinson was stopped by Sititi and Beauden Barrett.

Scotland couldn't capitalize, either, on a man advantage at the end of the half when Leroy Carter was sin-binned for tripping Graham.

Carter returned in the new half but New Zealand was straight back down to 14 again when stand-in captain Savea was yellow-carded for pulling down a rolling maul on his try-line. When he did, hooker Ewan Ashman rolled over the top and touched down Scotland's first points.

Murrayfield erupted and so did Scotland. From a corner lineout, captain Sione Tuipulotu shortened the defense and Kinghorn passed to an unmarked Kyle Steyn to score with more Finn Russell extras.

Scotland swept back downfield and prop Pierre Schoeman had the ball jolted from his grasp on the try-line by Codie Taylor and Graham knocked on in Roigard’s tackle while diving for the line.

Russell's third goalkick tied the score on 17 with a breathless hour gone.

New Zealand was back to 14 again after Sititi was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on. But Scotland couldn't find a second wind while the All Blacks stayed composed, notablty replacement McKenzie, head bandaged and blood-splattered from two cuts on his face.

“The win was there and we needed to kick on when it was 17-17,” Scotland coach Gregor Townsend said. "Outstanding by us but we need to win these games. We need to make that next step.

“I'd love to play New Zealand next week again because of what we have learnt from that performance.”

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Scotland's Kyle Steyn scores their side's second try during the Quilter Nations Series rugby match between Scotland and New Zealand in Edinburgh, Scotland, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)

New Zealand's Damian McKenzie scores their side's third try during the Quilter Nations Series rugby match between Scotland and New Zealand in Edinburgh, Scotland, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)

New Zealand's Wallace Sititi, centre, gets past Scotland's Ewan Ashman during Rugby Union Autumn Series match between Scotland and New Zealand in Edinburgh, Scotland, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)

New Zealand's Will Jordan scores their side's second try during Rugby Union Autumn Series match between Scotland and New Zealand in Edinburgh, Scotland, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)

New Zealand's Wallace Sititi is tackled by Scotland's Sione Tuipulotu during Rugby Union Autumn Series match between Scotland and New Zealand in Edinburgh, Scotland, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)

U.S. President Donald Trump said the military could end its Iran offensive in two to three weeks and will shift responsibility for the Strait of Hormuz to countries that rely on it for oil and shipping as the White House announced a prime-time presidential address Wednesday evening on the war.

Trump expressed frustration Tuesday with allies who have been unwilling to do more to support the U.S. war effort, telling them to “go get your own oil.” Trump recently has vacillated between insisting there is progress in diplomatic talks with Iran and threatening to widen the war.

In an interview with pan-Arab broadcaster Al Jazeera, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged receiving direct messages from U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. He insisted, however, that there were no direct negotiations and said Iran has no faith that talks with the U.S. could yield any results, saying “the trust level is at zero.”

Trump said the U.S. “will not have anything to do with” what happens next in the vital waterway that has been closed by the Islamic Republic. Instead, he told reporters, the responsibility for keeping the strait open will rest with countries that rely on it. Gulf states rely on the waterway for both exports and imports, including food, and 20 percent of the world's oil supply flows through it.

U.S. gas prices jumped past an average of $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022 on Tuesday, as the Iran war continues to push fuel prices higher worldwide. Analysts say those high fuel costs will trickle into groceries as businesses’ transportation and packaging costs pile up.

Here is the latest:

The Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen said Wednesday they fired a barrage of ballistic missiles toward Israel.

Air raid sirens went off in southern Israel in the early morning, from Beersheba to the Mediterranean coast following the launch. There were no immediate reports of impacts.

Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Houthis, said in a prerecorded statement that they fired at “sensitive targets” in southern Israel.

The attack is the third since the Houthis joined the war on Friday when they fired their first missile towards Israel since the U.S. and Israel launched massive airstrikes on Iran on Feb. 28.

Their entry has raised concerns that they could resume attacks on vessels in the Red Sea further disrupting the global shipping industry and sending oil prices much higher

A drone attack has killed a citizen of Bangladesh in Fujairah, one of the UAE’s seven emirates, authorities said.

He was killed Wednesday when Emirati air defense systems intercepted a drone, and shrapnel landed in a farm, the Fujairah media office said.

The fatality has brought the death toll in the UAE to nine civilians and two soldiers. A Moroccan contractor with the UAE army was also killed in Bahrain.

Earlier Saudi Arabia said it had destroyed two Iranian drones.

Emergency personnel said an 11-year-old girl was severely wounded in central Israel in the latest missile attack from Iran.

Two more people suffered moderate injuries including a 13-year-old boy and a 36-year-old woman, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue services.

Iran’s foreign minister has acknowledged receiving direct messages from U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.

The comments by Abbas Araghchi came in an interview with pan-Arab broadcaster Al Jazeera aired late Tuesday. He insisted that the messages didn’t constitute negotiations.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly described Iran and America has having talks over the war, while Pakistan has been a key intermediary along with Egypt and Turkey during the conflict.

“I receive messages from Witkoff directly, as before, and this does not mean that we are in negotiations,” he said.

He added: “We do not have any faith that negotiations with the U.S. will yield any results. The trust level is at zero.”

Asked about a possible ground offensive by the U.S., Araghchi said “we are waiting for them.”

“We know very well how to defend ourselves,” Araghchi reportedly told the Qatar-based broadcaster. “In a ground war, we can do it even better. We are completely ready to confront any sort of ground attack. We hope they do not make such a mistake.”

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said in a preliminary count early Wednesday 21 people were also wounded in the strike in Jnah.

The strike came without warning, and Israel did not declare the target. When it does, it often says it is targeting operatives from the Hezbollah militant group.

Emergency workers rushed to the scene to search for victims.

Israel’s military warned the public Wednesday a missile was incoming from Yemen, yet another attack from the country’s Houthi rebels who have just entered the war on Iran’s side.

Air raid sirens went off in southern Israel, from Beersheba to the Mediterranean coast.

The warning, just around dawn, broke a long lull, more than 19 hours since the last time Israel’s military warned of an incoming missile launch from Iran, and more than six hours from the last alarms in the northern part of Israel, which in past days received near-constant fire from Hezbollah in Lebanon.

A drone attack by Iran and its allies hit a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, sparking a fire, authorities said.

The state-run KUNA news agency said the attack early Wednesday sparked a “large fire” at the airport.

It said there were no immediate injuries from the attack and firefighters were working to control the blaze.

Kuwait International Airport has been attacked before by Iran during the war. The KUNA report suggested the attack may have been launched by Iranian-supported militias in Iraq with Tehran’s support.

In another strike, Bahrain said early on Wednesday morning that it was working to extinguish a fire at a business facility that resulted from an Iranian attack.

Israel said early Wednesday it struck a plant supplying Iran’s theocracy with fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, to allegedly use in a chemical weapons program. Iran acknowledged the strike on Tofigh Daru factory, but insisted it only supplied “hospital drugs” used in medical operations.

The strike happened Tuesday, both the Israelis and the Iranians said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted a picture of the factory in Tehran, writing on X: “The war criminals in Israel are now openly and unashamedly bombing pharmaceutical companies.”

Hospitals extensively use fentanyl to treat severe pain. But a small amount of the drug can be fatal.

Both Israel and the United States have warned in recent years Iran was experimenting with fentanyl in munitions. The U.S. previously pointed to Iranian academic research studying how Russia likely used a fentanyl derivative during the 2002 Moscow theater hostage seizure by Chechen militants.

Israel alleged Tofigh Daru supplied fentanyl to an advanced research institute in Tehran, known by its acronym SPND. The U.S alleges SPND has conducted research and testing that could be applicable to the development of nuclear explosive devices and other weapons.

The United Arab Emirates has barred Iranians from entering or transiting the country as the war rages, three major airlines said Wednesday.

Long-haul carriers Emirates and Etihad, as well as the lower-cost airline FlyDubai, made the announcements on their websites.

Entry rules can sometimes be opaque in the autocratic United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven sheikhdoms, the three airlines agreed on the order. It said holders of 10-year Golden Visa residency permits could still enter the country.

Authorities have offered no official comment. But Dubai has already shut down the city-state’s Iranian Hospital and Iranian Club, institutions that date back to the time of the shah.

Members of civic groups hold signs against the U.S. and Israel attacks on Iran near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Israel's rescue teams and residents take shelter as sirens sounds next to a site struck by an Iranian missile in Bnei Brak, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

People stand near a damaged van beside scattered debris following an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A firefighter extinguishes a car at the site of Israeli airstrikes, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Residents and Israeli security forces inspect a site struck by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva, Israel, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

A man inspect the wreckage of an Iranian missile that landed near the West Bank village of Marda, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike hits a building near the airport road in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A family who fled Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon warm themselves by a bonfire next to tents used as shelters in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)