Scotland’s forwards coach yesterday added his voice to those describing a knock on by All Black captain Kieran Read as an act of cynicism, but Dan McFarland also acknowledged that it was merely evidence of how determined the world’s best side is to avoid losing a Test match.

The incident, which saw the veteran No.8 slap the ball out of Jonny Gray’s hands as Scotland pressed for a try which would have turned Huw Jones subsequent score into a match winner, happened with close to nine minutes remaining and the All Blacks already down to 14 players for the rest of the match with replacement hooker Wyatt Crockett having just replaced Sam Cane in the sin bin.

That the New Zealanders were repeatedly forced into such desperate measures was an indicator of how much pressure they were under and McFarland said there was no doubt they should have been down to 13 men.

“Yellow card... quite possibly (a try), quite possibly a penalty try. I can see that that would be something for discussion, but the yellow card’s not up for discussion is it? That’s just cynical isn’t it?” he asked rhetorically.

However he also acknowledged that a moment which perhaps bore comparison with the deliberate knock on by David Campese that controversially helped Australia beat England in the 1991 World Cup final, offered into insight into what gives the All Blacks their edge.

“They’re an extremely competitive side and everybody in world rugby knows that when you get the ball into their 22 the very last thing they want to do is concede a try. That’s how they play,” he said.“They’re very streetwise, they’re very clever. They’re a really good team who make good decisions on the park and that’s an element of the game that we’re looking to improve as well, as is every other team. I’d say that they’re the best team in the world at it and the rest of us are getting there, so to speak.”

He seemed to suggest, however, that Scotland’s management was not prepared to go quite as far in terms of helping their team to win at all costs.

“Not being cynical… Nobody wants to give away tries in your 22 or at all, but defending hard within the laws is the way that we’ll approach it,” McFarland added.

It was not the only contentious moment that saw an All Black get away with an indiscretion and on a day that saw World Rugby launch an inquiry into the conduct of Michael Cheika, the Wallabies coach, as a result of his reaction to decisions that went against his team in their 30-6 defeat by England at the weekend, McFarland more politely suggested that the Murrayfield officials had made another blunder when failing to sin bin Waisale Naholo for making illegal contact with Stuart Hogg as he caught a high ball.

On that occasion the television replay official seemed to talk match referee Matthe CarXXX out of sending the winger to the sin bin and while he disagreed with their conclusion McFarland expressed understanding.

“I think it is a discussion between them,” he said. “I know they like to have a dialogue to talk things through and I’m all for that. Whether I think they came to the right decision in the end, I think it could have been a yellow card, but it is what it is. These things sometimes go for you, sometimes go against you. That’s a difficult job making those kinds of decisions in front of 67,000 people where everybody wants the game to go on as well.”

All of that is beyond the Scotland management’s control as, from next season onwards, will be much of play-maker Finn Russell’s schedule following his confirmation that he is leaving Glasgow Warriors, almost certainly France-bound at the end of the season and McFarland admitted to some regret about that.

“I’d much rather see him play in Glasgow, I think we all would,” he said. “I don’t want to go into Finn’s case in particular, but it’s definitely better to have Scottish players playing in Scotland. It’s not a complicated issue. In Scotland we have a good record of managing players and making sure their long-term welfare is looked after so they can represent their country and their clubs. That has been done well. If they are not under your control you can’t do that.”

Players cannot, however, be protected once they are on a rugby field and while he persists in rejecting any suggestion that it is causing problems, McFarland acknowledged that Scotland’s injury list is presenting ever greater challenges. In particular in his specialist area, front-row cover is beginning to look pretty sparse with Zander Fagerson and Darryl Marfo both in re-hab this week after picking up injuries at the weekend. That said, none of those who were injured at the weekend which also includes Luke Hamilton, who has had confirmation that he has not broken his ankle and Alex Dunbar, who like Fagerson is under-going concussion protocols, have yet been ruled out of Saturday’s meeting with the Wallabies.