'Doddie would be proud of us' - Scotland captain Jamie Ritchie gutted at losing to All Blacks in front of guest of honour Melrose legend Weir

The ex-Melrose lock, 52, who has had motor neurone disease for five years, received a fantastic acclaim from the Edinburgh crowd and both sets of players before kick-off.

The Autumn International saw the Scots look the better side for long spells but ultimately end up on the wrong end of a 31-23 defeat.

Weir, who served Melrose between 1989 and 1995, has campaigned tirelessly to raise funds and awareness of motor neurone disease since being diagmosed in 2017. Five years ago, on the last occasion Scotland faced the All Blacks, he strode on to the turf to deliver the match ball, accompanied by his three sons, Hamish, Angus and Ben.

The crowd responded with a rousing ovation and did so again on Sunday as Weir, now in a wheelchair, presented the ball to Scotland captain Jamie Ritchie. Hamish, Angus and Ben, and Weir’s wife Kathy were alongside him.

Ritchie said: “I said to Doddie before we went out: ‘I want to do it for you’.

"And I think he would be proud of us, looking at the performance. It’s just unfortunate we were on the wrong side of the result.

"We were the better team for the majority of that game.”

Scotland recovered from losing two early tries to go in at the interval 17-14 ahead and they led 23-14 at the start of the final quarter. But New Zealand found a way to win, emptying their bench and scoring two late tries to prevail 31-23.

“Disappointment is the overriding emotion,” said Ritchie. “However, personally for me there’s a lot of pride there as well.

"I sat here yesterday and spoke about being brave and being courageous. I think we did that extremely well.

"It’s pretty tough. We’ve been penalised within a metre of the line three times. It’s tough to take. We certainly had more chances, so it’s pretty gutting.”

Ritchie had called on his side to show self-belief and take the game to their celebrated opponents, and the home team did just that, scoring 23 unanswered points between the 12th and 52nd minutes.

It was the most points Scotland have scored against the All Blacks since the 62-31 defeat at Carisbrook in 1996.