Star man: Stuart Hogg
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An exceptional effort at the breakdown helped Scotland to a confident 34-10 victory over Italy at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Four tries, including a brilliant length of the field interception try from Stuart Hogg, led to a memorable victory for Scotland in front of a vocal home crowd at Murrayfield, compensating for the performance against England at Twickenham last weekend.
Interim head coach Scott Johnson had bemoaned his side's lack of intensity in the tackle area against England in Round One, but there was to be no let-up from the Scots at Murrayfield - throwing their bodies into the breakdown and forcing the Italian platform that stood solid against France to collapse.
That pressure on the half-backs was illustrated by the performance of Luciano Orquera. Sensational against Les Bleus, Orquera fumbled, shanked and laboured against Scotland - a shadow of the player who was so impressive six days before in Rome.
Both sides played with a level of ambition that this fixture has witnessed too little of in previous years, with Italy still riding high after last weekend's victory over France.
Handling errors were a plenty though and it took a penalty from Greig Laidlaw after 15 minutes to open the scoring, handing Scotland the lead.
Little errors continued to compound long periods of Italian possession throughout the opening quarter, with Scotland frustrating the Azzurri at the tackle area, Laidlaw adding another further three points to hand Scotland a 6-0 lead after 25 minutes.
A howling missed kick from Tommaso Benvenuti handed Scotland centre Matt Scott the opportunity to score in the left corner, only to be denied by a brilliant try-saving tackle from Tobias Botes.
The missed chance though was a warning shot - Ruaridh Jackson creating the space for Tim Visser minutes later down the left-hand side and the Edinburgh flyer jinked his way through for the opening try.
Italy looked to have the final say in the first half and Orquera's made no mistake with his second penalty attempt to leave the score at 13-3 going into the break.
Scotland's dominance continued after the interval - an attacking lineout producing a second try as Matt Scott dived over following a great offload from Sean Maitland in midfield.
Stuart Hogg then hammered the nail into the Italians coffin, intercepting a two-on-one that would have certainly led to a try for Italy to scamper down the length of the pitch himself, his second exceptional try of the Six Nations stretching the lead to 27-3. Orquera, his final act of the afternoon being the pass that set Hogg free, swiftly left the field.
Fortune continued to work against Italy as the half wore on, a strong attacking position in front of the Scottish posts snuffed out by a powerful drive in the scrum from the home pack.
Maitland looked to have made another fine assist for Scott in the right-hand corner later on, but his pass was marginally forward as Scotland sought to pile on the humiliation with a fourth try.
They did not have to wait long. Sean Lamont pouncing for his ninth international try, a loose ball at the back of the Italian ruck snatched up by the centre who raced away to score under the posts on a dream afternoon for the home side.
Italy did work a consolation score, a well-worked scrum resulting in an inside flick from Parisse into the grateful path of Alessandro Zanni who powered over for the try.
But this was Scotland's day - a great response to the criticism thrown their way after their defeat at Twickenham and a feast of tries for Murrayfield to savour.
Man of the Match: Scotland's pack were so strong that this honour is split between Euan Murray and Kelly Brown - each player making 15 tackles in an excellent defensive performance.
Moment of the Match: Undoubtedly Stuart Hogg's breakaway score that put Scotland out of sight. A potential Lion in waiting.
Villain of the Match: The wild missed hack from Giovambattista Venditti was both hilarious and tragic, but more importantly nearly cost his side a try.
The scorers:
For Scotland:
Tries: Visser, Scott, Hogg, Lamont
Con: Laidlaw 4
Pens: Laidlaw 2
Yellow Card: Cross
For Italy:
Try: Zanni
Con: Burton
Pen: Orquera
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Sean Lamont, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Kelly Brown (capt), 6 Rob Harley, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements: 16 Pat MacArthur, 17 Moray Low, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Alastair Kellock, 20 David Denton, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Max Evans.
Italy: 15 Andrea Masi, 14 Giovambattista Venditti, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Gonzalo Canale, 11 Luke McLean, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Tobias Botes, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Francesco Minto, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Andrea Lo Cicero.
Replacements: 16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Antonio Pavanello, 20 Paul Derbyshire, 21 Edoardo Gori, 22 Kristopher Burton, 23 Gonzalo Garcia.
Comments
rugby_rockstar says...
Praetorian, always good to get both sides of the story. That was a good post.
Posted 09:32 12th February 2013
praetorian says...
I thought I would be the only one to write that this match is not so negative for Italy, luckily mlbp has already said so. I agree.
The article speaking "sensational" and "memorable" for a home victory against someone who has won only once abroad in the 6N should be taken as a compliment. Italy beating France does not mean that Italy has become France. If we do not play well, we lose.
To rugby_rockstar: Italy was not relaxed. It tried to control the match and failed. Italy's play is based on scrum dominance, when this does not materialize, the rest becomes more difficult. I am a fan of the way our play is developing, thanks to the long term work of the Italian Federation and the different trainers over the years.
I will be blasted for writing this, but if you remove the most ridicolous errors (Venditti; Orquera worth 2 tries; the forgotten ball), the match is nearly a draw.
Congratulations to Scotland for the strong defense and for scoring points whenever they could. Nothing to say. When they conceded 3 tries in 7 minutes, Italy did not steal anything.
As for the positives: normally when Italy has a bad day against a top team it blows up. Did not happen this time. No physical collapse after 60 minutes, scoring the last try and finishing on the attack. This has happened for a few matches in a row. Hopefully this big hole in our play is gone.
Posted 18:25 11th February 2013
rugby_rockstar says...
Well done Scotland! A great bounce back against an Italian forward pack everyone (yep, me too,) said were going to slowly crush the life out of Scotland. given the weather is was all about pressure and defense and smart use of the ball. Scotland were given a fair few points thanks to the pressure theuy applied, but they also created a couple of well taken tries too. Best game to watch for the neutral too.
Italy... I didn't like how relaxed and laid back they looked before the anthems. I feel there was a fair bit of complacency and it took them forever to realise they were getting their ass handed to them on a plate. Italy were mentally poor. This in no way detracts from Scotland's performance which would have given England and Ireland a serious problem to deal with and would've beaten Wales and France comfortably.
Posted 15:57 11th February 2013
carpelone says...
Rubbish game. Sensational? The writer should have been on Boilermaker.
The forwards decided who won this match and the referee set the score.
A fresher Scotland prevailed over an ordinary Italian side. Orquera from hero to zero.
Again, Italy failed to string two good games in a row. Whether it is mental or physical, this is a fact.
They'd better send e second string team to Twickers and target Ireland at home.
Posted 10:26 11th February 2013
foxrock says...
Yet another dreadful refereeing performance - which, again, clearly influenced match proceedings throughout - and yet another refereeing black mark for the IRB.
If a referee doesn't understand the nature of the scrum - as was demonstrated in Edinburg about 60 mins in when Italy were instructed to "use it" - then it beggars belief that the IRB think this standard of refereeing suffices for international rugby.
Posted 09:18 11th February 2013
mlbp says...
@porridge_time
You're right about Matt Scott's tries. I rewatched parts of the match and I am afraid I didn't remember the first of Matt Scott's tries as first-phase ball. It was a soft try conceded by Italy because of their overeagerness in defence. They are still on a learning curve and they are a young team. The other one was well defended and well attacked and the best team scored.
I'm still not happy about Lamont's try. I am not sure he came through the gate when he kicked the ball forward. The Italians' overeagerness in attack proved costly anyway. They will have learnt a lot from it.
Posted 08:23 11th February 2013
porridge_time says...
mlbp says...
Both of Matt Scott's tries came off of an attacking lineout... and to suggest you were looking at it from a neutral fans point of view is fanciful and obviously not the case.
Italy went to Murrayfield full of confidence and were snuffed out pure and simple. Scotland out gunned and muscled the Italian's at the breakdown and showed patience and threatened to score whenever they had the ball in hand or in broken field.
In my opinion Italy will pick up one or two other victories this season as they are definitely improving as a test team, but Scotland in my opinion need to step up to the mark again in two weeks against Ireland or this result against Italy will have been worthless.
Posted 17:45 10th February 2013
tellitlikeitis says...
well said 'astrospange'. Scotland cheating all day. No sour grapes, jsut observation. And i'd still like an explanation of the BBC lad picking Laidlaw for man of the match ( bookies favourite, 6/1), when he was one of the least visible players, who had very little impact on a team with the least amount of possession and people like Harley, Hogg. Lamont and even RIchie Gray did FAR more than him. Bizarre bizarre call, and needs looking into. The French press pick the French match man of the match, why the hell did the commentator get to pick this one?? It stinks to me.
Posted 14:43 10th February 2013
atg77 says...
@ Scotrsa, armchairgeneral &westofscotland. You've made some good points here. It used to be that Scotland had a decent pack and toothless backline, now it seems to becoming the opposite. Lethal outwide but can't compete upfront. Its surprising that we have arguably the biggest locking partnership in the competition. I really feel our back three are still being woefully under-utilised. Hogg gets alot of ball from return kicks/interceptions, but Visser and Maitland have been pretty invisible - but through no real fault of their own. We're crashing the ball up too often close to the fringes than playing to our strengths and moving the ball into space and out to the wings where we can do some real damage. This comes back to the desparate need for a genuine ball-playing midfeild. Matt Scott has the skills but holds onto the ball far too much. Even bigger problem is Lamont, whom I have yet to see pass the ball in an international. If we can at least get parity up front in every game henceforth and keep shifting that ball wide(not kicking it away!), Scotland will be a force to be reckoned with in world rugby.
Posted 13:05 10th February 2013
pierredelot1 says...
A total reversal of last week. Everything that Italy tried went pear shaped, everything that Scotland tried came off. Italies victory over France last weeek was against a French side lacking direction, purpose and and determination, combined with playing class players notably Fofana out of position. Watching Scotland last week, I felt they were not as bad as described and just had no luck, combined with playing an England team whose attacking came off and who looked as if they have come on a bundle. (Later today will be the proof of that puddding.) But Hogg really showed his class, Laidlaw had a great game, Jackson, quietly went about his work. Loved the work rate of Harley, he didn't take on every tackle, but went for the key ones, leaving some of the work to others, but boy did he put in a shift. No poor performances which made for a great team performance. Good to see it. At last Scotland are playing heads up confident rugby. They certainly deserved this one.
Posted 12:00 10th February 2013
mlbp says...
I am afraid I don't agree with many of the contibutions on this thread. Italy played positive, constructive, consistent and ambitious rugby all the time. They were structured, they had a clear game plan. Unfortunately their execution was poor a couple of times and Scotland were able to capitalize on their mistakes. I admit that Scotland were physical and they were able to smother the Italian attacks in some phases of the game but Italy kept most of the possession and territory and it was only a couple of split second decisions that didn't let them score.
Obviously Italy doesn't have a first-class playmaker but their spirited performances and their workate compensate some of their shortcomings. It's great to see the commitment of all the players and the positive game plan they bring into every match. As a neutral fan I believe they didn't deserve such a severe punishment and they were a pleasure to watch in some plays. Unfortunately they were let down by their enthusiasm and their poor execution in a couple of plays.
Simone Favaro was oustanding. He was everywhere in support and the first man in the tackle. Zanni is still a great player in the ruck-maul area of the game. Parisse was a bit over eager but you cannot blame a player for being ambitious. He is always among the best four players in every match.
Scotland as always give their all Braveheart-style. They were dominant in some physical encounters but they didn't impose their game all the time.
Rugby is turning into a counterattacking game. It looks like handball at times. A team defends giving their all and when play is broken the attacking team is in disarray if they have to defend. I don't want to take anything away from Hogg's outstanding try, but that was a clear example. Had Orquera dummied the pass the try below the posts was there for the taking. Credit to Hogg for reading the play so well.
Posted 11:45 10th February 2013
georgesmith says...
Scots deserved it. Match-fixing by the awful Azzurris especially after the win over France. It will get really interesting if Scots can get some consistency and get at least another win. Great competition - 6 Nations.
Posted 10:37 10th February 2013
scot_rsa says...
@Armchairgeneral - a fair assessment of Scotland and totally agree on the bench. Some good players to come through from Scotland A and U20s. They should get their chance soon as they've earned it.
Posted 09:49 10th February 2013
ArmchairGeneral says...
Scotland were good against England and they maintained it. Could have had a few more tries if they'd not substituted as momentum was up and if forwards had helped tackled carrier with some support to keep speed of recycle going. Very positive evolution for Scotland; they're dangerous on the counter; they have pace and try scorers. Weakness is the negative impact of their bench. Won't win close games with that.
Posted 09:29 10th February 2013
WestOfScotland says...
Just thought I'd try and post the least biased comment I could coming from a Scotland fan. I just think Scotland did the opposite of what they have done for a long time, instead of having huge amounts of possession and doing very little with it (which is exactly what Italy did), we put pressure on the opposition and took (almost) every chance we had. We're not the finished article but it was a step in the right direction. With regards to the ref sure he wasn't perfect but from my perspective I've blamed the ref for many a Scotland loss but the truth is the reason why Scotland weren't getting the refs decisions in those games was because we where too passive and seemed on the back foot, and unfortunately that governs 90% of the refereeing decisions now a days. Say what you want but a team can't control the ref, only how they respond to his decisions, so if you think your teams losing because of him you're deluded. The best teams win in spite of the ref and I think that is a lesson both teams today need to learn if they are going to truly challenge for the six nations.
Posted 05:46 10th February 2013
J_HDK says...
lol @ tellitlikeitis. Only saw your comment after I posted mine.
Posted 04:20 10th February 2013
J_HDK says...
With a europe wide investigation into matchfixing in soccer.. perhaps someone at interpol should have a look at this one.
Orquera essentially hands the ball to Hogg when it would have been easier to run right by him. Hogg was clearly wrong footed. At the very least you fix your defender, and offload in the tackle.
Posted 04:16 10th February 2013
Noshonmescrote says...
Two terrible teams playing out a terrible match. Italy's forwards should seek independence from their backs. Bloody awful.
Posted 02:37 10th February 2013
PREEST says...
What a let down. I was looking forwaed to a battle, instead Utaly decided not to play. I get the feeling the Italians are content with their win over France s won't play hard anymore (sorry if that sounds synical). Well, I guess we know now that it wsn't so much a good Italy side thay beat the French but a poor and gutless French side that showed up (look how they played against the Welsh). Italy will loose the rest of their games, which is a real shame considering how this tpurnament started. Would't be surprised if the French go winless.
Well done Scotland. Two great tries!! (Two against the run of play that flattered the Scoreline for them.
Posted 01:57 10th February 2013
Iyhel says...
@mitchymole: please feel free to get high on superlatives... Dumb words won't make your team better than they are - and please read again, no one said they were not good today!
Note to the editor: did you change the moderating team? I find you let through a higher ad hominem insults number than before...
Posted 01:43 10th February 2013