ROMAN EMPIRE
Match-winner Laidlaw says Italian comeback proves Scots are building a team to challenge the very best ITALY.. 27 SCOTLAND.. 29
THE whistles and boos as Greig Laidlaw lined-up a late penalty were one thing.
An impromptu loudspeaker announcement urging respect for the kicker, right on cue for his run-up, was another.
But that discourtesy and gamesmanship fell on deaf ears as the Scotland scrum-half drowned out the din to secure a winning end to the Six Nations campaign.
Not for the first time, the 32-year-old dug his side out of a hole with a last-gasp rescue act in Rome.
A bonus-point win over Italy in a game where Gregor Townsend’s men trailed for almost an hour provided both positives and negatives aplenty.
Triumphs over France and England at home were followed by a victory that Laidlaw believes could be invaluable moving forward.
He said: “This win says a lot about the team. We have worked on our character in both defence and attack and have been building this over a few years now, trying to win ugly.
“We have done it a couple of times at Murrayfield, I remember the Argentina game a couple of years back. We can win ugly. We don’t want to but we can.
“It was tremendous the way we were able to come out on top in what was a scrappy game.”
There was little sign of the swashbuckling style that has been the trademark of Scotland’s approach under Townsend’s guidance during this championship and last November’s Tests.
Azzurri boss Conor Shea had a decent argument in his claim that his side deserved better.
But Laidlaw insists the Dark Blues were worthy winners having fought back to wrestle control from Italy’s grasp and prove it’s all about the end game.
He said: “You deserve to win if you score more than the opposition and we did that.
“Did Italy play well? Yes they did. But we did extremely well to come back into the game and in the last 20 minutes we took a hold.
“Our forwards were outstanding, squeezing them with the driving maul, getting us field position and winning us penalties. That’s what won the game.
“The pleasing thing was we were 24-12 down at one point but there was no panic at all. Everyone gathered and connected under the posts after we’d conceded the third try and came up with a plan we stuck to. So we’re delighted we got ourselves out of a hole.
“We might not have come back from that a couple of years ago. To be able to do that now is pleasing and to understand when we are behind we still back our skillset and still cause teams problems.”
The outstanding Tommaso Allan ran in two tries for Italy sandwiched between a Matteo Minozzi score but touchdowns from Fraser Brown, John Barclay, Sean Maitland and Stuart Hogg helped avert an embarrassment before Laidlaw’s penalty two minutes from time.
The Clermont playmaker revealed he wasn’t aware of the dirty tricks taking place as he focused on claiming the three points with a strike that is up there with his career best.
He said: “It went between the posts and over the bar so I was pretty happy.
“You have to just try to block everything else out whatever your technique. Thankfully it held up again. It’s up there with the best I’ve hit. I’ve said to the boys I’d prefer they don’t get us in that situation where I have to kick too many of them.
“That’s part of my job as a goal-kicker though. It’s down to me to put them over and thankfully I was able to do that.
“Somebody mentioned the tannoy announcement but I wasn’t aware. There is always noise and it’s part of being a goal-kicker that you have to block it out.
“It’s all about technique. If you can hold that and back yourself then thankfully, like that one, they go over.
“The boys closed the game out well, it wasn’t just me.”
This Scotland side remains a work in progress and Laidlaw conceded three Six Nations wins from five leaves plenty of room for improvement.
He added: “We want to win the championship so we need to improve. But we’ve won three games this time.
“It has been a good championship, although we could have done slightly better. We’re evolving, getting better and it’s important we really drive that along with the coaches.”