5 things we learned

This Scotland team is not afraid to scrap

Coming off the back of a thumping against England, Scotland could have gone into their shell against Italy, who disrupted ball and made a general nuisance of themselves, but the Scots did not get dragged down to their level — and fought fire with fire.

Zander Fagerson has a big future

This was just the tighthead prop’s ninth cap, and he is still only 21, but he looks at home at this level. Against a strong Italian front-row, he did not shirk the challenge, while in the loose he carried well and, for a big man, has great hands. The next few years are bright for him.

Ryan Wilson is a key man

The No 8 took a knock early on but the reaction from the home crowd when he stayed on shows how important he is for Scotland. He hardly ever misses a tackle and always makes a lot of yards in attack. When he went off after 50 minutes, he was clearly disappointed but he had run himself into the ground.

Stuart Hogg is a certain Lion

We probably already knew he would be off to New Zealand this summer but, after this second-half showing, it seems almost 100%. In the second half when Scotland needed players to step up to the mark and take things by the scruff of the neck, he did just that.

Vern Cotter leaves this group ready to kick on

Three wins from five is a great return in this year’s Six Nations but there is more to come from these players. Cotter heads off to France having given Greig Laidlaw, John Barclay and Co the confidence to express themselves and Gregor Townsend is inheriting a highly motivated group.