A first half bit of magic from captain Stuart Hogg and two tries from Chris Harris and Adam Hastings in the second overwhelmed an underwhelming Italy side in Rome.
Stuart Hogg came back to form with emphatic fashion powering through the Italy defence and completing a run from the halfway line to score the only try of the first half.
Chris Harris finished well after controlled work by Scotland in the Italy twenty-two. Harris broke through the Italy defence after fifteen phases of play by Scotland in the Italy end zone.
Adam Hastings scored the third and final try of the game when he caught the Italy defence off guard, picking up the ball from the breakdown and making a simple run through the Italian blindside.
For Italy the only real action to note was a yellow card given to Federico Zani on 69 minutes for a lifting tackle on Grant Gilchrist in what was a bad day for the Azzurri.
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First half of contrition
Not attrition, contrition, as in remorse for a first half that, if it wasn’t for Stuart Hogg’s moment of magic, these most recent pages of history would have instantly been lost in the annuals of bruising Scotland-Italy encounters.
Gregor Townsend wanted Scotland to combine resilience with attacking edge but again the mixture wasn’t quite right in a performance where Scotland showed good defensive organisation but struggled to find the key that would unlock the steel barred door that is the opposing twenty-two.
The opening half started with a flurry of penalties. Nearly as soon as Italy kicked-off they gave away a knock-on. Scotland returned the favour as Chris Harris knocked on a Hasting’s box-kick.
In a phase of two minutes there were three failed scrums on the bounce which referee Rowan Kitt became tired of resetting and gave a penalty to Italy.
Scotland showed their form by getting into the opposition twenty-two faster than any other team. In this year’s championship the dark blues have gained the most territory on the field of play without scoring a try. And so it was again in this case, Scotland giving away a penalty from three metres in front of the posts.
Adam Hastings had the chance to open the scoring on nine minutes but made a poor penalty miss from left of the upright.
Throughout the match Italy showed bursts of attacking flair but had no finish to add to their ingenuity. On fifteen minutes Mattia Bellini made a thirty metre break that turned Adam Hastings inside out and into the turf. Bellini off-loaded to Jayden Hayward who, if he had passed the ball in the other direction, would have set up Matteo Minozzi for a certain score.
Italy were trying to play expansive rugby, getting the ball wide to powerhouses Hayward and Bellini, but it was Stuart Hogg who was the greatest powerhouse of all. Hogg picked up on a loose ball and instantly countered, sprinting towards the Italy defence, playing a dummy that gave him the space to break the Italy line and complete a forty plus metre run that went from blindside to openside and finished in the right hand corner. Hastings conversion hit the post but you didn’t feel it was critical against an Italy side that had all bluster but little bite.
Scotland thought they had scored a second try through Ali Price after nice build up play between Hamish Watson and Sam Johnson, but Watson’s pass to Johnson was ruled as being forward by the TMO which was the correct decision.
Giosue Zilocchi had to endure the embarrassment of being subbed off in the first half not for injury but for poor form. Zilocchi could not handle opposite number McInally who was easily overpowering Italy’s tighthead prop at the scrum.
Italy had chosen to kick to touch all their penalties but one which Tommaso Allen hit off the upright with two minutes to go before halftime. Scotland went in at the break 5-nil up.
Second half
The same question was posed on the Scotland team within five minutes of the second half. They got into the opposing twenty-two, could they score?
Scotland crept forward, phase nine, phase ten, phase eleven, short passes and quick breakdowns. Watson and Richie tried to combine and do what Mario Itoje and Tom Curry had done so effectively with Ellis Genge at Murrayfield two weeks ago. The rip didn’t work this time but from the resulting breakdown the ball was played out wide to Chris Harris who completed a nice finish, breaking through two Italian defenders and getting over the try line. Again Hastings conversion hit the upright.
Scotland were ten-nil up and in no real danger. Every time Italy made progress into Scottish territory their plays would end with handling errors and silly mistakes. The only real piece of action to note for the Italians was a lifting tackle by Federico Zani who upended Grant Gilchrist and was given a yellow card for what would be his last contribution to the match.
The Italians were ragged by the end which let Adam Hastings in to score probably the easiest try of his test career. Luca Morisi went into the breakdown thinking he could regain possession, leaving the blindside open for Hastings to pick up the ball and run in under the posts. Try and conversion, Scotland won a must win game with some left in the tank.
For Italy it was a hugely disappointing day in their first home game of the 2020 Six Nations.
FT: Italy 0 – 17 Scotland
Scorecard:
Italy 0
Tries:
Conversions:
Penalties:
Scotland (5) 17
Tries: Hogg, Harris, Hastings
Conversions: Hastings
Penalties:
Italy: (Backs); Hayward, Bellini, Morisi, Canna, Minozzi, Allan, Braley, (Forwards); Steyn, Negri, Polledri, Cannone, Zanni, Zilocchi, Bigi (capt), Lovotti
Replacements: Zani, Fischetti, Riccioni, Lazzaroni, Budd, Licata, Palazzani, Bisegni
Scotland: (Backs); Hogg (capt); Maitland, Harris, Johnson, Kinghorn; Hastings, Price, (Forwards); Sutherland, McInally, Fagerson, Cummings, Toolis, Ritchie, Watson, Bradbury
Replacements: Brown, Dell, Nel, Gilchrist, M Fagerson, Horne, Hutchinson, McGuigan
Harry Jamshid Reporter Sports Pages 