Scotland vs. Italy: Winners and Losers from 2015 Six Nations Clash

Italy gave their 2015 Six Nations a tremendous boost on Saturday after beating Scotland 22-19 at Murrayfield to claim their first points of this year's tournament.

The Azzurri finished as the stronger of the two outfits after a high-tempo first half, patiently surmounting their dominance in a fixture that could have easily gone the other way.

Vern Cotter's men will be extremely disappointed to see the result evade their grasp, with a raft of lessons to learn for both teams, some constructive and others less so.

Winner: Scottish Fire Not Hot Enough in Fight Against Wooden Spoon

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It all began so promisingly for a Scotland team that swiftly established a 10-0 lead on Saturday, but Mark Bennett's seventh-minute try would prove to be the last for Cotter's side.

In truth, the hosts may have found themselves up against a less resilient defence in the second period were it not for Italy pulling a try back of their own just four minutes from the interval.

That boost gave the Italians a greater passion to play in the second period and Scotland didn't come to meet the task, despite Murrayfield's renown as an empowering venue for its residents.

Granted, Italy's will in defence was strong, but all ingenuity seemed to be drained of the Scots as the game wore on and chances became harder to come by for the home team.

As a result, Italy find themselves with what will likely be their only points of the championship and Scotland edge closer to the wooden spoon award. 

Loser: Second-Half Stuttering Makes for Disappointing Second Half at Murrayfield

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Whether it was because both teams become so aware of what was at stake in Edinburgh or because bodies simply tired early on, Saturday's second half at Murrayfield paled in comparison to the first.

Too much time was spent stabilising scrums, and a drought in quality kicking from either side saw possession almost pointlessly exchanged throughout the middle third.

The first half brought with it all the signs that this would be a fixture to remember between two closely drawn sides, but just 10 points in the second half made for a drab contest up until the last moments.

Both Scotland and Italy struggle to maintain consistency across 80 minutes against their more talented peers, but this was a cancelling out of two powers too worried to take their chances, with entertainment suffering as a result.

Winner: Italy Continue to Last on Guts, Not Glamour

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It's no new headline that producing elite talents en masse is one of the factors holding a team like Italy back from becoming world class, but they've gotten by on other attributes, too.

For there's a lot to be said about the mental aspect of rugby and what perseverance can do for a team like Italy, who again relied on heart in defence to stage their comeback on Saturday.

This wasn't the first time Italy have finished a game in the ascendancy, showing against England several weeks ago just what courage they're able to summon in a fixture's dying minutes.

It evidently isn't enough to fire a team to victory on a consistent basis; if Italy possessed 15 players of Sergio Parisse's calibre, they'd be competing for world titles, never mind struggling in the Six Nations.

Such an army wasn't required against Scotland, though, and despite missing a greater share of tackles and going without the ball for lengthy periods, the Azzurri resilience paid off.

Loser: Small Mistakes Will Disappoint Vern Cotter

A single slip in rugby can cost a team dearly, and Scotland suffered several on Saturday to see the win escape their reach.

Perhaps the most poignant of the lot was the missed collection from Kelly Haimona's kicking attempt that allowed Giovanbattista Venditti to storm in and turn three points into seven.

Building up to half-time, this proved to be the score that turned Italy's mood and was easily the most avoidable of the lot had more Scotland players simply had their wits about them under the posts.

Cotter will know as well as anyone it's these snapshots that decide a result—as Scotland now know, too—and although the notion has been that things are widely improving under the Kiwi, slight improvements such as these need to become second nature.

Winner: Stuart Hogg Once Again Scotland's Guiding Light

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Despite the defeat, Cotter will take any positives he can from Saturday's result, and yet again, Stuart Hogg stood out as a player capable of leading this Scottish side for years to come.

Even in the gloom of their non-creation in attack at times, the full-back was looking to engineer something out of nothing, a buzzing influence to put the Scots on the front foot.

There was a moment in the 61st minute where Hogg would have scored to reestablish Scotland's lead, but despite being found in front of the ball, it was clear the he was on a higher plane of thinking.

Not only did Hogg initiate that particular attack, he somehow managed to get himself to the flanks before any team-mates had the wit to do so, showing his talent to predict how a passage will progress.

In the end, Hogg finished with 85 carrying metres to his name, per ESPN Scrum, second only to Bennett, whose run-in from near halfway gave him a distinct advantage in those stakes.