"In my experience taxi drivers, no matter your location, can offer a direct insight into the heart of public opinion - particularly when it comes to sporting matters."

Some are more forthcoming than others, especially when they take the time to find out that their passenger is a member of the Fourth Estate.

Such was the case on my visit to Edinburgh for Scotland's clash with New Zealand where history and the media appeared to be conspring against Frank Hadden's side.

The Scotland coach Hadden had made wholesale changes from the side that easily accounted for Romania earlier this week, citing the need to keep the core of his side fresh for crucial clash against Italy just six days later.

Add to this the weight of history - Scotland had never beaten the All Blacks in 25 attempts dating back to 1905.

As a result the media had insured what hope there might have been was quashed by writing off the Scots' chances and questioning Hadden's thinking.

Back to the taxi - my driver was busy denouncing Hadden's policy, labelling it as 'shocking' and sympathising with the fans who had forked out to watch the game only for their side to 'concede' defeat well before the first whistle.

In his absence I felt inclined to argue the point that Hadden had been also forced to answer in the build up to the game.

When pressed Hadden chose to highlight the strength of his line-up despite the lack of his big names - most notably Jason White. I chose to argue the point that the challenge of Italy on the horizon was the key to any measurement of 'success' at this World Cup.

As he became increasingly engaged in his own argument he was even more incomprehensible. I had more success recently deciphering the broken English of the French taxi drivers I have experienced of late who themselves could form their own version of the United Nations.

It was not long before we were both damning the Scots' selection policy for making 'mockery of the tournament' and half-hoping that their decision would backfire with Italy finding some form and dumping the Scots out of the tournament later this week.

Grey skies loomed over Murrayfield ahead of the game and the All Blacks' change grey stip (OK, silver) and Scotland's silver-tipped shirts did little to lift the gloom and caused confusion in the press box at least.

The atmosphere at the stadium was disappointing to begin with - in a word, flat. And that's not just because we've been spoilt by the enthusiasm of the crowds in France.

You know things are bad when you can hear a comment from a fan sat in the opposite stand as if he were sat next to you - as was the case on more than one occasion.

But the large New Zealand following soon had something to cheer when Richie McCaw waltzed through for the first score.

With less than five minutes on the clock the scribes were sharpening their quills, poised to pen a scathing report.

But to their credit the Scots dug in, and aided by some faltering play from the tournament favourites, the expected bonus point was still some way off - in fact it only game after an hour.

Former All Blacks were a common sight around the stadium with Carlos Spencer, Jonah Lomu, Justin Marshall and Mark Robinson amongst those enjoying the action - and a beverage or two - and all were the subject of abuse for not joining in the crowd wave.

Doug Howlett's first try saw him break the New Zealand record of Christian Cullen and his achievement was duly acknowledged by the crowd when informed by the PA who would make a more memorable cameo later in the game.

But before then the Scots would continue to frustrate New Zealand, who in turn were frutrated by their failure to find top gear.

Talking of not being able to locate something brings us back to the PA announcer who issued a request for the 'drivers of the Scotland and New Zealand team buses' to return to their vehicles.

Perhaps they were discussing the merits of differing international selection policies? Either way it it amsued many.

In the end it may have been an emphatic victory for the All Blacks but make no mistake this was also a wake-up call for Graham Henry's side. They are far from the finished article.

Despite the heavy defeat Hadden will take some positives out of the performance from his young side - even though they rarely looked like troubling the scorers.

The fact is New Zealand were favoured to win this game convincingly no matter what side Scotland put on the field and going by some predictions a forty point loss was a good result.

For the Scots it was all about damage limitation, on the field and in the press, and they knew nothing was expected from them so they had nothing to lose. But they didn't play that way.

What is clear to Hadden, and has been so since the draw was made for the tournanemt, is that he will be judged on how far they progress.

And that always made the clash with Italy - who beat the Scots in Edinburgh earlier this year - the biggest barrier to his side making the last eight.

Some may question his refusal to throw his top talent into today's clash to ensure they are match-sharp for the Azzurri clash.

But we, and by that I mean the media and fans, must defer to Hadden on this one - he knows his players the best having fine tuned them since taking the reigns three years ago.

Remember the Scots were in disarray not so long ago and hadden has orchestrated their recovery.

At the final whistle it appeared the crowd had been won over too as they warmly applauded the valiant Scots.

The All Blacks were given the pop-star treatment on the deaprture from the stadium but there were few smiles to be found on their faces - they know they'll have to raise the bar again.

OK, so a few of the capacity crowd may feel a little hard done by but anyone with a remote knowledge of the game could have predicted the scenario surrounding this game many months ago.

If Scotland beat Italy in St Etienne on Saturday then all this negativity will be forgotten.

A likely clash with Argentina in the last eight will offer the Scots a real chance of making the final four for only the second time in World Cup history.

And should Hadden take his side that far I for one - and maybe an opinionated taxi driver or two - will stand and applaud Hadden's coaching prowess and courage to make big decisions.