SCOTLAND 29 ITALY 0
It’s taken three years but Vern Cotter finally allowed his mask to slip as he waved Murrayfield a tearful goodbye.
The Kiwi struggled to keep his emotions in check as he signed off as Scotland head coach on a high after an emphatic win over a dismal Italy side as four tries combined with awful Azzurri kicking display.
Stern Vern let his guard drop as he addressed the crowd after a Six Nations triumph that makes him the most successful Scottish coach in the professional era – or maybe it was just something in his eye.
After a week when all the talk about Cotter’s departure was talked down, skipper John Barclay finally admitted this performance was about the coach after all. He said: “It’s hard enough to win these games without focusing on anything else.
“But everyone who was involved was keen to finish on a high for each other as well as the coaching staff.
“They’ve been fantastic. We played some good rugby in this campaign. We had good wins against Ireland and Wales and we look as though we are on the right path.
“We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved. There’s more to come from this group and we need to kick on after Vern’s left.”
It was the first time Scotland hosted Italy in front of a capacity Murrayfield crowd – another indication of Cotter’s legacy and the optimism now around.
Stuart Hogg fired the first points with a penalty of nonchalant ease after the away side collapsed a scrum.
Heavy rain was taking its toll as the ball continued to slip and slide through the hands of both sets of players in an error-ridden, scrappy first 20 minutes where the set-piece dominated.
Scotland were then penalised for an infringement but Carlo Canna squirmed his kick wide from under the posts.
Italy’s game plan to strangle the life out of the contest and not allow the Scots to play expansively was frustratingly going to plan.
That all changed in the 26th minute as a Scottish surge saw Finn Russell launch a high ball into the corner for Tim Visser to chase. But he couldn’t gather cleanly and the chance was lost.
Huw Jones limped off to be replaced by Matt Scott and it coincided with Scotland’s first try of the afternoon.
Intense pressure on the Italian line had Ali Price handing off to Russell who dived over in the corner. And he added the extras with a conversion from a tight angle.
It was reward for the momentum that had slowly been building and a 10-point lead was secured. Another Canna penalty sailed wide in the 32nd minute and it was another more than makeable kick.
That second try cushion came just