Scotland vs. Italy: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Six Nations Round 3

Italy clinched their first points of the 2015 Six Nations with a last-minute 22-19 win against Scotland on Saturday to pull clear from the bottom of the standings.

Jacques Brunel's men grabbed a penalty try in the last passages of their trip to Murrayfield, grabbing some revenge for the last-gasp defeat suffered in Rome last year at Scottish hands. RTE Rugby confirmed the result:

Scotland began in the ascendancy and quickly found themselves 3-0 up thanks to the kicking talents of Greig Laidlaw, whose penalty put the hosts ahead after less than a minute.

The home outfit steadily tightened their grip and were rewarded with more points in the seventh minute when Kelly Haimona's pass was picked off by Mark Bennett, who had an easy run-in under the posts.

As the official Scottish Rugby Twitter account detailed, it was Bennett's first time touching down in international colours:

The Azzurri weren't to be fazed that easily, though, and Joshua Furno rummaged over with the Italian pack guiding him for an instant response.

A line-out in the corner gave Italy their chance to set up the maul and as ESPN confirmed, it was the visitors who provided more push power deep in Scottish territory:

"

TRY! Superb maul from Italy following a lineout deep in the Scotland half, Furno eventually creeping the ball over: http://t.co/qJrmBjpOzX

— ESPN Scrum.com (@espnscrum) February 28, 2015"

With Peter Horne starting in place of the suspended Finn Russell, the Scottish back line were working to attain some fluidity for periods, but the stand-in didn't appear to disrupt the hosts' momentum.

With Laidlaw taking care of kicking duties, the Glasgow Warriors back could concentrate solely on his playmaking. Cotter's scrum-half took care of his responsibilities, too, booting Scotland into a 16-8 lead after 26 minutes.

An eight-point lead would have been useful heading into half-time. However, Giovanbattista Venditti dotted over just four minutes from the break, when Haimona's conversion attempt was snapped up by the winger:

Cotter will have severely displeased with his side falling to sleep in such a manner, especially with the halfway mark so close and the Azzurri creeping to within a point of their hosts at 16-15.

Haimona was an early casualty for Jacques Brunel in the second period and was replaced by Tommaso Allan, both teams starting the second half with a more frantic pace than was evident in the first.

Scrum-half Edoardo Gori was among those showing some superb initiative when trying to spark the Italians into a stronger assault and both packs continued to play a large hand in the balance of power.

Replacement kicker Allan couldn't urge the Azzurri into a lead with his penalty attempt 10 minutes into the second period. OptaJonny showed how common it is for these two sides to be so close together after 40 minutes:

And that's how it would remain for a substantial chunk of the second half. Having been so open and fluid for periods of the first half, both teams were now cagier and far more wary of conceding points.

In fact, the clock hit the 65-minute mark before another point was scored and The42.ie attested to the second half being of a far lower standard in entertainment:

Italy were happy to bide their time, however, and as the fixture ticked into the final minutes, it was the Azzurri looking to grind their way over the line and settle the result with their pack.

Their energy-sapping drives on Scotland's five-metre line were a tactical back and forth, which was somewhat surprising given that Paul Williams of Rugby World pointed their forwards as some of the lightest around before kickoff:

Finally, Scotland got their reprieve and after a lengthy passage of Italian scrum after Italian scrum, the hosts saw pressure alleviated with a penalty of their own and three minutes left on the clock.

However, substitute lock Ben Toolis saw yellow on his debut and Italy came back with a rejuvenated mood among their forwards, storming Scotland's gate once again with a maul and drive.

Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

The Azzurri took their advantage and after holding off for so long, Scotland conceded a penalty try in the 80th minute to see their first win of the tournament go astray.

With the final play of the game, referee George Clancy made a brave decision to award the penalty try, per Wales Online, and Allan added the extras to seal their 22-19 victory:

Scotland will leave Murrayfield dejected knowing that the result was there to be taken, but again it was chance conversion that played a part in the home side being unable to make their carrying yards count.

Italy, on the other hand, leave Edinburgh with the wooden spoon that much further from their reach, and deservedly so following such a strong show of fight in the dying minutes of Saturday's win.