Match report
I’m heading over to Ireland v England now:
We’ll have a full report online shortly. Thanks for joining me. Bye!
Here’s the man of the match, Blair Kinghorn: “Delighted with the result, we dug it out at the end to get the win.”
“Credit to our boys, they were awesome – and credit to Italy too.” Textbook stuff from the lad, even referring to the ground as “BT Murrayfield”.
Greig Laidlaw is critical of those late defensive mistakes – pointing out that Ireland will punish those kind of lapses severely in their next home game.
Full time! Scotland 33-20 Italy
It’s all over! Scotland were dominant throughout and 33-3 up after an hour, but allowed Italy three late tries after downing tools towards the end.
TRY! Scotland 33-20 Italy (Esposito 78')
Hmm. Scotland are a man down, and have taken their foot off the gas, but Gregor Townsend may still be concerned that Italy have scored three tries here. Angelo Esposito is the man to break beyond the home defence this time, but misses a cheeky drop-goal conversion attempt.
Last change for Scotland, with Adam Hastings replacing Russell.
TRY! Scotland 33-15 Italy (Padovani 75')
Scotland thought they had a sixth try, but now Italy have a second – it’s a lovely move, too, the visitors upping the pace with their extra man before Ruzza offloads to Padovani for the score. McKinley misses the conversion.
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Just before that, McKinley had come back on for Tommaso Allan. There was also a significant change for Scotland, with Gary Graham coming on for his first cap. The Newcastle forward has previously attended England training camps.
72 mins: Stuart Hogg collects a kick, and sidesteps into the space created by Ali Price. He races into the corner, beaming from ear to ear – but Price is penalised for obstruction!
TRY! Scotland 33-10 Italy (Palazzani 71')
Italy make the advantage count, with Palazzani collecting from a tackle and squirming in under the posts. Allan converts, and the Italian fans at least have something to cheer.
70 mins: Italy kick to the corner and win a lineout that Scotland don’t contest. Italy roll for the line, and Berghan gets a yellow card for collapsing the maul!
67 mins: Italy mount an attack, with Scotland conceding a few penalties and getting a warning from the referee. Finn Russell, the new captain now that Laidlaw is off, is advised to sort his troops out.
64 mins: Laidlaw converts, as Jake Kerr comes on for his debut, replacing McInally. For Italy, Ferrari is wheeled back to the garage, replaced by Federico Ruzza.
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TRY! Scotland 33-3 Italy (Harris 61')
Scotland piling up the points now, an Italian clearing kick landing with Hogg, who is given too much space and dances to within five metres before offloading to Toolis, who is only denied by an almighty blindside tackle. Scotland work the ball to the right, where Strauss barrels forward and finds Chris Harris, who dots down for his first Scotland try!
60 mins: An hour played, and Italy have spent 14 seconds in the Scottish 22.
59 mins: Italy changes – Ghiraldini and Negri head off, replaced by Luca Bigi and Tiziano Pasquali.
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58 mins: Italy launch a rare attack, but a handling error stops them in their tracks. Changes for Scotland: Jamie Bhatti, Ali Price and Chris Harris are on, replacing Dell, Laidlaw and Huw Jones.
56 mins: It’s been a long afternoon for Italy, and there’s still plenty of time to go. Scotland have wrapped up a bonus point with their fourth try, and are set to make a few changes now the game is won.
TRY! Scotland 26-3 Italy (Kinghorn hat-trick!)
Russell offloads beautifully to Allan Dell, who smashes a hole in the defence, allowing Jamie Ritchie to make headway. He finds Laidlaw, who shifts the ball to Kinghorn, who spins through the gap and over for his third try, converted by Laidlaw.
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53 mins: Berghan spills the ball but Russell gathers, and Scotland come again. Italy knock on, but Pearce plays advantage...
52 mins: More changes in the Italian pack: Budd and Lovotti are off, replaced by Cherif Traore and Jimmy Tuivaiti.
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51 mins: A couple of changes – Simon Berghan replaces WP Nel for Scotland, while Edoardo Padovani is on for Castello.
50 mins: Palazzani, who has had a quiet afternoon so far, suddenly sprints downfield, but is denied a run for the line by Wilson’s tackle. Scotland get the scrum for a knock-on; replays show it should have been Italy’s ball.
TRY! Scotland 19-3 Italy (Hogg 47')
Scotland win the lineout and Laidlaw finds Seymour, who cuts through the Italian defence. The ball is recycled, and Russell pokes a lovely no-look kick beyond the try line. Stuart Hogg is onto it, and beats Esposito to get a hand to the ball! Laidlaw converts, and Scotland have a bit of breathing space.
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45 mins: Scotland pour forward to put pressure on the Italian backs, with Hogg tackling Hayward, who offloads to Allan. The fly-half finds touch well with the white shirts circling...
43 mins: The referee is having a look at a potentially dangerous tackle by McInally on Dean Budd, who was on his knees. No yellow card, but an Italian penalty.
42 mins: ...Italy fail to clear their lines and Scotland come again, Laidlaw the conductor as Strauss tries to bash his way through. Scotland work the ball right but Ryan Wilson’s ambitious attempt an an offload goes forward.
41 mins: Hogg pounces on a poor kick, collecting and slaloming deep into Italy territory before Lovotti hauls him down...
Here we go again!
Hogg sets the second half started for Scotland.
Half-time reading
Michael Aylwin looks back at Wales’s dramatic win in Paris, and forward to their trip to Rome:
Our new columnist, Ugo Monye, tells us what to expect when Ireland and England face off:
And if you want to keep up to date on all things rugby in this World Cup year, why not sign up for The Breakdown, our weekly newsletter?
Half time! Scotland 12-3 Italy
Scotland have been the better side, with Blair Kinghorn finishing two delightful attacking moves – but much like the bagpipes in the background, the half got less appealing as it went on. More soon.
39 mins: As the Murrayfield piper pipes on and on, Scotland go looking for a third try before half-time. Parisse rescues Italy, forcing Scotland to hang onto the ball – and they should get to the break just nine points behind.
37 mins: Seymour stops an Italian attack with a tackle on Campagnaro, and the visitors are penalised to end that foray forward.
36 mins: Scotland are solid enough at their lineout and clear the danger. Tomasso Allan is back on for McKinley after his concussion check.
35 mins: An exchange of kicks between the full backs, before Hayward produces a beauty of a diagonal ball that rolls into touch, deep into Scots territory...
34 mins: Luke Pearce has had enough of the stop-start scrums, telling both sets of players he will start penalising people. No time like the present, surely – but Italy get the ball away this time.
33 mins: Willem Nel needs the attention of two physios but gets back up, adjusts his shorts and gets set for another scrum, which immediately falls in on itself.
31 mins: Hayward does well to deal with an up-and-under, with Josh Strauss’s considerable frame bearing down on him. McKinley finds touch with a clearing kick, Italy trying their best to keep the gap down to single figures with half-time approaching.
29 mins: Scotland can’t make the most of that penalty as we endure another spell of scrappy scrummage, before Italy get a penalty and McKinley clears.
Tommaso Allen is going off for a head injury assessment – he’s replaced by Ian McKinley, who plays in protective goggles after losing his sight in one eye:
26 mins: Scotland get a penalty after an Italian scrum goes down. Italy are not happy with some of the referee’s decisions here, but that looked fair enough.
23 mins: Scotland have started very well here, punishing Italian mistakes and showing some nice variety in their attacking play. The only blemish is the injury to Skinner, back on the bench with crutches and an ice pack for his knee.
TRY! Scotland 12-3 Italy (Kinghorn 21')
Ruthless from Scotland here, Laidlaw finding Russell who triggers a blur of passes out wide, with Hogg’s final ball bouncing into the arms of Kinghorn, who snatches his second try! Laidlaw nails the conversion this time.
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19 mins: Scotland take a quick throw from a lineout, setting up an attack from which Laidlaw plays a smart diagonal kick, putting Hayward under pressure. Italy look to have cleared the danger, but Tommaso Castello knocks on 5m out, and it’ll be a Scotland scrum...
17 mins: That lively start has drifted, with a spell of scrappy scrums, Scotland’s the more unstable and first before Italy engage too early.
14 mins: Italy had defended so solidly, but it was an error that allowed Laidlaw to start that attacking move. For Scotland, flanker Sam Skinner has been forced off with an injury – he’s replaced by Josh Strauss.
TRY! Scotland 5-3 Italy (Kinghorn 13')
The fly-half produces an inch-perfect kick to Kinghorn, in acres of space on the left flank – and the wing races over the line unopposed! Laidlaw misses a tricky conversion.
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11 mins: Italy surrender the ball on their own 22, Laidlaw snaffling the ball after the referee gave him the green light. The ball is switched to Finn Russell, in front of the posts...
Scotland 0-3 Italy (Allan penalty)
The fly-half slots it over from just to the left of centre, and Italy lead!
8 mins: Italy get on the front foot from Hayward’s kick forward, and Parisse takes a low hit from Jamie Ritchie. Italy penalty – no more than that after a TMO review – which Allan will take...
6 mins: From the set-piece, Blair Kinghorn skips through the Italian defence, who regroup and force Scotland to move centrally. The visitors hold firm, Tommaso Allan making a key tackle, and forcing a penalty when Hogg hangs onto the ball.
5 mins: Palazzani, a late addition to the Italy fifteen, shows plenty of ring-rust with a kick that flies into the stand. Scotland with another chance to attack...
4 mins: Ryan Wilson is up like a salmon in the lineout and Scotland roll ominously towards the line, with the ball under Grant Gilchrist’s arm. The referee awards the try, but consults with the TMO, who spots a double movement from the Edinburgh lock. No try!
2 mins: After a spell of possession, Hogg bursts down the left and finds Laidlaw, whose kick through has to be shinned into touch by the last Italian man. Scottish lineout, five metres out...
1 min: Scotland, in their white and navy change strip, launch the first attack, debutant Sam Johnson with a lovely sidestep to open things up...
Here we go!
Tomasso Allen kicks off for Italy, playing in their first-choice azure shirts.
We’ve had bagpipes, and a marching band playing The Proclaimers. Textbook Edinburgh. Now the anthems, Italy first, then a reliably rousing ‘Flower of Scotland’, belted out by a sell-out crowd.
Scotland, of course, have plenty of injury problems of their own. They’re without around a dozen players, including captain John Barclay, wing Sean Maitland and forwards Jonny and Richie Gray.
A late change for Italy, with scrum-half Tito Tebaldi pulling up in the warm-up. Zebre’s Guglielmo Palazzani steps in off the bench.
Fortress Murrayfield
A strong stat from Gracenote’s Simon Gleave:
“Scotland have become a formidable team to play at Murrayfield, scoring at least 25 points (and two tries) in each of their last six home matches in the Six Nations since losing 15-9 against England in March 2016. They’ve beaten every one of their Six Nations rivals in that winning run, including France twice.”
In case you missed it, the Six Nations kicked off in style last night, with Wales rallying from 16-0 down to win in Paris.
The teams
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Blair Kinghorn, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw; 1 Allan Dell, 2 Stuart McInally, 3 WP Nel, 4 Ben Toolis, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 6 Sam Skinner, 7 Jamie Ritchie, 8 Ryan Wilson.
Replacements: 16 Jake Kerr, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Gary Graham, 20 Josh Strauss, 21 Ali Price, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Chris Harris.
Italy: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Tommaso Castello, 11 Michele Campagnaro, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Tito Tebaldi; 1 Andrea Lovotti, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 3 Simone Ferrari, 4 David Sisi, 5 Dean Budd, 6 Sebastian Negri, 7 Braam Steyn, 8 Sergio Parisse.
Replacements: 16 Luca Bigi, 17 Cherif Traore, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Jimmy Tuivaiti, 20 Federico Ruzza, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Ian McKinley, 23 Edoardo Padovani.
Preamble
Scotland played their part in a historic Six Nations last year, finishing third to complete the first all-Celtic podium since 1975. This time, Gregor Townsend is targeting a landmark that would be all theirs – a first title since the final Five Nations 20 years ago.
There are reasons to believe – Scotland have won six of their last 10 Six Nations games, and will host Ireland and Wales this year. Scotland have only won their opening Six Nations match twice, but surely couldn’t ask for a kinder fixture to begin with.
That said, Italy have often proved thorny opposition in the past, and so nearly pulled off a shock win in Rome last year. Their last Six Nations victory came in Edinburgh, back in 2015. Since then, Italy have fallen away from the rest, but a home win can’t be taken for granted.
Scotland have been here before, with big expectations turning to dust upon contact with reality. If they are to prevail in what looks set to be a fiercely competitive tournament, they must get the formalities done first. Kick-off is at 2.15pm, GMT.
