KEY POINTS:
Thank goodness that's over. The Scots are terrific; Edinburgh is one of the best European cities, rich in character, loaded with history - one of the most popular weekend holiday destinations on the continent.
But it should not have hosted games at the World Cup. Nor should Wales.
The good thing is that this part of the cup is behind us. The cup - a certain quarter-final in Cardiff excepted - returns to where it should never have left.
Fifteen minutes into the All Blacks' Pool C romp against Scotland, a quiet pall hung over the magnificent Murrayfield. It was as if 64,558 people had arrived suspecting they knew what would happen - and it was being confirmed before their eyes.
By that point, the All Blacks were 12-0 up, and those holding the faint hope that somehow the weak selection put out by Scotland's coach Frank Hadden could perform the Miracle of Murrayfield knew it wasn't going to be.
It is one thing to arrive at a game between a heavyweight and a genuine lightweight - say the All Blacks and Portugal - where there can only be one result. At least then you come in search of other elements of entertainment than the mere playing of the game, in that case a sunny afternoon when you could delight in the simple pleasures of people relishing seeing their countrymen taking on rugby's best.
It's quite another when the world's No 1 team takes on the No 11 - and traditionally one of those who sit, if not always on merit, at rugby's top table - and know there's no hope of a real contest.
Afterwards, the All Blacks spoke of a tough physical battle, and certainly the Scots put themselves about as best they could.
But they had no attacking teeth, their scrum was pedalling backwards from the start and the All Blacks dropped into a fug which prevented them really chopping Scotland up.
It must be difficult to keep the foot down when you are absolutely certain there is no chance of defeat. The concentration gets fuzzy. Sharpness loses its edge.
The Scots didn't even have a shot at goal in 80 minutes, only rarely threatened the All Black line and then botched it with collective hands of stone.
People paid serious money to watch this. Top seats were £164 ($446). The cheapest were about £35 (95).
As Johnny Rotten taunted the crowd at the final Sex Pistols concert in the late 1970s, "ever feel like you've been cheated?"
Hadden blamed the schedulers at the International Rugby Board for putting three games in 11 days for the Scots to get through. Beating Italy at St Etienne next Sunday morning to secure a last-eight spot is all that matters. Hadden knew the team he'd put out yesterday had no chance. Forget his public comments. What a state this has come to ...
Hadden is not the first coach to have taken the pragmatic approach. He won't be the last. All the eggs are in one basket.
But Scottish rugby people deserved to see their team have a decent lash at an All Black side struggling to function at optimum level. Afterwards there were peculiar utterances about it not being a bad result, that things could have been worse.
Really? Worse than 40-0? Only in numbers, and anyway try selling that to the Scottish fans as they packed the bars around Murrayfield grumbling into their pints of bitter.
It was appropriate that the All Blacks flew back to Aix-en-Provence in the south of France straight after the match. They couldn't wait to move on, and neither could anyone else associated with this unwanted cup orphan.
