Italy vs. Scotland: Score and Reaction from 2016 Six Nations Round 3

Scotland ended their Six Nations winless streak with a 36-20 triumph over Italy on Saturday, their first win in the competition in two years, per BBC Sport's Aimee Lewis.

Greig Laidlaw's boot gave the visitors no less than 19 points, while John Barclay and John Hardie scored early tries to gave the Scots the lead. Leonardo Ghiraldini scored the first try for the hosts, and Kelly Haimona's boot kept things close before half-time.

Marco Fuser added some late excitement after Finn Russell was sin-binned, but Tommy Seymour secured the win with a late try. WP Nel was also sin-binned in the final minutes.

As reported by the Guardian's Gerard Meagher, Laidlaw called on his team-mates to finally break their Six Nations losing streak:

"

We are frustrated [after the first two weeks] but if we focus on trying to play well and getting the most out of each other that’s what is going to get us over the line. We have to simply concentrate on the 80 minutes that’s in front of us, do one thing well, move on to the next job and do that well and then we’ll get the right result. We need to look after the ball, we need to carry strong and keep speed in the play. If we do that we’ll get on the right side of the referee and we’ll be in a strong position.

"

The Scots seemed eager to move up the pitch from the opening kick, forcing a put-in at the scrum from the halfway line almost immediately. Italy's scrum has looked very capable so far in the Six Nations, but the Scots dealt with it well early.

Russell missed a kick to touch, handing Italy excellent field position, and after John Barkley failed to release, Haimona kicked the penalty for the first points of the match.

Barclay gave the visitors the lead almost immediately after, however, powering his way over the line after a clever offload from Stuart Hogg. Rugby World was impressed:

Scotland now pushed forward in search of a second try, and the Azzurri had no answer for their fast, smart passing game. Russell made some space with some clever footwork before the ball was worked outside to Hardie, who dove over. Another conversion from Laidlaw made it 14-3.

A poor kick from David Odiete gave the Scots possession in a promising position once again, but a needless penalty saw the advantage go to waste. Mental errors continued to cost Italy, and Edoardo Gori failure to roll away at the breakdown gave the Scots another penalty and three more points.

But as the first half wore down, the hosts started claiming more and more momentum. First, Ghiraldini  finished off a nice team move to bring the deficit back to just seven points, per Rugby Mag:

Laidlaw then missed his first kick of the match, keeping the difference at just seven points between the two teams heading into half-time. Scotland dominated the first half, and the fact the deficit at half-time was just a single converted try had to be disappointing for the visitors.

Bet365 were happy with what they were seeing:

Scotland's scrum continued to beat the Italians' early in the second half, and another Azzurri penalty gave Laidlaw the chance to redeem himself, pushing the lead out to 10 points.

Haimona easily slotted a penalty over the posts to bring his team back within seven points, but referee Jaco Peyper penalised the hosts for holding on shortly after, allowing Laidlaw to add three more points to his tally.

Francesco Minto then left his feet in the ruck, as more errors plagued the hosts, and Laidlaw kept taking advantage. But just as the momentum started to drop from the match, Peyper gave Russell a yellow card for handling in the ruck, and Fuser scored a try almost immediately after.

Per Agence France-Presse's Justin Davis, it took the hosts almost no time to use the man-advantage:

Scotland were desperate for something positive while Russell spent his 10 minutes in the sin bin, and yet another error from the hosts gave Laidlaw the chance to push the lead back to nine points.

The Azzurri weren't willing to give up just yet, however, and led by Sergio Parisse, they pushed the Scots back into their own half entering the final 10 minutes. Michele Campagnaro tried to recover a chip, but Laidlaw put the cherry on top of his excellent afternoon with a wonderful clearance.

The Scots kept possession as much as possible in the final minutes, killing any hopes of a comeback. Nel's late yellow card gave the Azzurri some unexpected life, but Seymour touched down after a smart flick from Hogg to put the final score on the board.

With their first win now on the board, Scotland will host the in-form France squad at Murrayfield in Week 4. Italy will travel to take on defending champions Ireland.  

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