Head coach Gregor Townsend, was happy with a lot of what he had seen
in a match played in humid conditions, but acknowledged that with a
new-look side and with so many players not having seen any action for so
long, there was still plenty to work on.
The first 38 minutes showed the Scots’ threat but also the absence of the sort of cohesion they will need to challenge the best.
Then came a 10-minute purple patch in which they scored two tries
either side of half-time to put the game to bed, with two moments of
magic from fly-half Finn Russell in setting up two of the scores the
highlight of the night. “I always thought it would be difficult to play
the rugby we had been training to produce because of the conditions and
the fact that we had not played together before,” Townsend said.
“The opening five minutes were excellent. If we had come away with
tries then, it would have been better but the players kept believing in
what they were doing, got back in the game, and worked hard to get those
two tries just before half-time.
“We talked during the week about how Italy were tough opponents and
how the type of rugby they play will take a lot out of the forwards.
“You have to keep working at it. There will be times in the game when
it may open up, though, because they are not used to playing with that
speed of ball.”
All that was achieved despite a late reshuffle after John Hardie hurt
his back in the warm-up, forcing Ryan Wilson off the bench into the
starting XV, with John Barclay, the flanker and captain, switching sides
in the scrum.
As Townsend suggested, Scotland started at 100mph, but the
frustration was that all they had to show for it was a single penalty
from Russell cancelled out by one for his opposite number, Tomasso
Allan.
The game turned on a productive 10 minutes either side of half-time
when Scotland ran in four tries and settled the result. The first came
from an Ali Price tap penalty, which ended with the same player rounding
the defence to score.
Then came Russell’s first piece of magic, a perfect little chip kick
taking Scotland into the Italy 22 before a repeat chip was taken by wing
Tim Visser leading to the second try.
The opening period of the second half belonged to hooker Ross Ford,
who was at the back of a maul as it rumbled over the line and then in
the perfect place to take an inside flip from Russell for his second.
In 107 caps, he had only scored two tries so no wonder he was happy.
“It was good to get the win and keep the momentum going from the Six
Nations. We played with a bit of ambition, a bit of tempo. It was a good
first hit-out,” Ford said. “There were a lot of positives, round the
maul, defensively in the line-out, and a lot of our phase play was good.
“It was good to score. I managed to pop up in the right places, at
the back of a maul for the first and on Finn [Russell’s] shoulder for
the second where thankfully I did not have too much to do. It was good
fun, good to be out there playing an enjoyable game.
“I was expecting Finn to give the ball to Tim but instead he popped
it out the back door to me – happy days. Those are the things you have
to watch out for; he is able to do those things that not many people
think about. That is how you score tries.”
The personal glory, however, was outdone by the overall team satisfaction at having got Townsend off on a winning note.
“It was really good to get that momentum. We talked about it back in
Scotland, that we had built some momentum in the Six Nations and, with
Gregor coming in, wanted to keep it going. It was good to show that we
can play the way he wants us to play – fast and at tempo – and still be
accurate,” Ford said.
The final period was more nip and tuck with Italy claiming two tries
back, one from an interception finished by centre Michele Campagnaro,
the other in the final seconds when wing Angelo Esposito found space on
the touchline to go over.
In between, there was another moment to mark when Damien Hoyland, the
Scotland wing, was put over for his debut Test try – thanks to quick
hands from Duncan Taylor.
Captain Barclay said: “The pressure told. We kept saying, ‘keep hold of the ball, keep hold of the ball and we will score’.
“It was a bit greasy in the humidity but we knew that if we kept hold
of the ball we would come good and get some points. We had proved that
in the Six Nations – eventually you are going to open them up and
score.”
It was altogether a satisfying night but everyone in the Scotland
camp knows things are going to be a lot tougher next week in Australia.
