It was the kind of game that most Scots will be happy to wipe from their memories, but that is not an option for Gregor Townsend. The former Lions fly-half, and now Scotland attack coach, has the unenviable task of trying to pick his players up off the floor, rebuild their confidence and convince them that they still have what it takes to beat South Africa at Murrayfield on Saturday.  Townsend believes that it was the quick-fire nature of the All Blacks' opening assault that knocked the stuffing out of his side. Having conceded the first try to Hosea Gear in the ninth minute, they promptly coughed up possession and gifted the second to Dan Carter three minutes later. That double left them flailing on the ropes, their self-belief in ruins.  "The attitude going into the game was great," said Townsend. "I don't think it was a lack of desire or attitude, but if you make mistakes against a team who play at such a pace, and who are so clinical, then they will punish you.    "There was a feeling the heads went down after those two tries. Most of what we were talking about beforehand was starting well because if you don't start well against a team like the All Blacks then it is going to be very hard to bring that back.  "After those two quick tries the heads went down but it was not like that at the beginning of the game. We took the game to them, the players were up for it, but two quick tries and the game was over."  The Scots looked horribly rusty against the on-form New Zealanders, but Townsend pointed out that they had started their Six Nations campaign poorly against France last season but bounced back with an energised display – albeit one in which they snatched a gruesome defeat from the jaws of victory in the dying moments – against Wales the following weekend.  Townsend said: "We believe we have a chance against any team with the players we have, and I know they will perform better at the weekend. But it is a very, very tough challenge that the South Africans will bring. They have brought back a traditional game, a power-based game, they have lots of pace and they are very fit.  "They came back in the second half against Wales last weekend and we know it is going to be a huge challenge. But we also know we will get a reaction from our players. Last season we lost against France, played a bit of rugby but did not take our chances, but the following week we played really well in Wales. That is what we are looking for from our players this week."  The Scotland team to play the Springboks will be named around lunchtime on Wednesday. Mike Blair, who took a head knock against the All Blacks, and Max Evans, who suffered a 'stinger' injury in the game's final moments, have not trained since last weekend, but all the other players who were involved against New Zealand are said to be fit and available for selection.

In what could now be the largest initial public offering in world history, a reinvigorated GM plans to sell 478 million shares, netting close to 23 billion dollars in the expected flotation Thursday.  Amid stronger-than-anticipated investor demand the firm -- once at the epicenter of US manufacturing -- has gradually ramped up its expected windfall from 26 dollars per share to as much as 33 dollars in the hours before the sale.  Along with supplementary sales, that could net more than the record 22.1 billion dollar IPO posted by the Agricultural Bank of China in July, according to market research firm Dealogic.  Investors from Asia to the United States to the Middle East have expressed interest in getting a piece of a firm that was once the biggest carmaker in the world.  And according to Chinese state media, GM's partner in China, Shanghai Automotive Industries Corp (SAIC), is eyeing a one percent stake worth 500 million dollars.  The sale will sound a death knell for the "Government Motors" moniker, but not bury it completely.  President Barack Obama will see the US Treasury's share in the firm shrink from nearly 61 percent to slightly over 40 percent overnight, while claiming back some of the 50 billion taxpayer dollars spent to save the company.  If shares are massively oversubscribed the government's stake could even fall to 33 percent, according to rating agency Standard & Poor's.  Robert Schultz, an analyst with S&P, said a successful IPO will encourage consumers who were "hesitant to engage with GM because of the bailout and public ownership."  "The purpose of the IPO is to begin to shift ownership of GM to the public from the three main shareholders: the US Treasury, the United Auto Workers union, and the Canadian government," he added in a client note.  The Canadian and Ontario governments have an 11.7 percent holding, and the United Auto Workers union's retiree health care trust fund owns a 19.93 percent stake.  The return of GM to the New York Stock Exchange after an 18-month hiatus could also make it easier for the company to raise capital as it continues to address pension underfunding and shifts away from gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles (SUVs) toward greener, electric and fuel-efficient vehicles.  The company was forced to delist after filing for bankruptcy protection on June 1, 2009 amid plummeting sales, high debt, union disputes and as recession-hit consumers became increasingly unable to secure loans.  A successful sale would also provide a victory for Obama as his administration moves beyond an election "shellacking" fueled -- in part -- by anger at government bailouts.  But GM will still owe the government about 20 billion dollars, or roughly 40 percent of its original bailout.