Scotland 33 Italy 20
Italy swept aside but Ireland will provide a stern test
RARELY can a display of composure have been so perfectly captured than in the performance delivered yesterday by Blair Kinghorn, who, born and bred in Edinburgh, would be described in these parts as little more than a bairn.
In becoming the first Scotland player to score a hat-trick in the Six Nations, Kinghorn showcased a maturity that belies his tender years.
Still only 22 years old, and operating on the wing rather than his natural position of full-back, he showed a lethal touch any time he was offered even the slightest sniff of the Italian try line.
It was with ice in his veins that he helped Scotland to victory in their opening game, just the third time in 20 attempts that they have done so.
Indeed, Gregor Townsend’s men have now won seven consecutive matches at home in the Six Nations.
It is a fine record, but one which will be tested to the extreme when Ireland, off the back of a shock home loss to England, visit BT Murrayfield next weekend.
There would have been a far greater gloss to the scoreline yesterday had Scottish sloppiness and ill-discipline not led to the concession of three late tries.
But that should not detract from what was an undeniably positive outing and it is to be hoped that the lapses in concentration near the end serve as a wake-up call ahead of the clash with an Irish side ranked No2 in the world.
There was to be no fairytale ending for Italy captain Sergio Parisse on what was almost certainly his farewell tour of Murrayfield.
On his 135th cap, Parisse surpassed Brian O’Driscoll as the most-capped player in Six Nations history, though it was Kinghorn’s entry into the history books which warmed fans most on a bitingly cold afternoon.
This is a player who made his debut for Scotland only a year ago. After scoring on his first start against Ireland in Dublin, he has gone on to notch six tries in eight caps to date.
Townsend now has a hell of a headache when Sean Maitland returns to full fitness; he must choose a back three from Stuart Hogg, Tommy Seymour, Kinghorn and Maitland.
Hogg was also a try-scorer yesterday. That he was the beneficiary of a lovely grubber-kick from Finn Russell told a story of its own.
Russell pulled the strings quite brilliantly. Not as flashy or flamboyantly as he has done in the past in this stadium, but no less effectively.
The Scotland fly-half played a major part in all five of his team’s tries and, had it not been for the contribution of Kinghorn, would surely have been named man of the match.
A sense of nervous excitement had brought the streets of Edinburgh to life on the pre-match walk from the city centre out towards the stadium.
Voices pinged back and forth, exchanging opinions on what might be possible for Scotland; not only over the following couple of hours, but over the course of the next six weeks.
The optimism was understandable, with this the first of three home games in this year’s Championship. It was up to Scotland to justify the expectations of a nation.
They had three excellent opportunities to score inside the opening six minutes and settle any tension, but were unable to take any of them.
Greig Laidlaw opted to chip the ball over the Italian defence when he ought to have fed it back inside to Jamie Ritchie, who would have been unopposed as he advanced towards the line.
Grant Gilchrist then had a try ruled out for a double movement, while Kinghorn’s scything run was spoiled by a failure to release the ball to his team-mates when the line beckoned.
From there, though, Kinghorn’s fortunes would improve considerably. He set the wheels in motion with the opening try in the 12th minute.
Laidlaw worked feverishly to retrieve the ball from the breakdown and duly fed Russell. He thought about passing for a second, only to dink a quite sumptuous
cross-field kick with the outside of his right boot.
It landed in the arms of Kinghorn, who barely had to break stride as he raced in to score in the corner. Laidlaw’s conversion was narrowly wide.
That overturned an early deficit after Tommaso Allan’s penalty had given Italy the lead. It was a position of authority which the Scots would not relinquish.
The Italians’ preparations were dealt a blow with a pre-match injury in the warm-up to scrum-half Tito Tebaldi, who was replaced at late notice by Guglielmo Palazzani.
Scotland also had their own problems in that respect, with Sam Skinner having to hobble off with an injury early in the piece.
But they simply had too much variety to their attacking play for their opponents to cope. It was Russell who prodded and pierced their defensive line with increasing menace.
The Scotland No10 exchanged passes with debutant Sam Johnson and fed Hogg. He passed wide to Kinghorn, who picked the ball up off his laces to finish expertly in the corner in the 21st minute.
Laidlaw converted for a 12-3 lead, which the Scots held until half-time. The only frustration at that point was that they did not have more than two tries to show for their efforts.
The opening 40 minutes had been solid enough for Townsend’s men, if lacking the outright magic of Wales’ victory in Paris on Friday night which kicked the Championship off in such thrilling fashion.
The floodgates began to open in the 47th minute, with Hogg registering his first try for his country since the victory over Italy in Rome last March.
It was an excellent finish from the Scotland full-back, reaching out with his left hand and dotting down ahead of Italian winger Angelo Esposito.
Laidlaw converted and did so again when Kinghorn crossed for his hattrick to secure the bonus point just seven minutes later.
Scotland were now feasting on Italian wounds, with a typically penetrating run from Hogg allowing Chris Harris to add a fifth just after the hour mark.
Remarkably, Russell’s conversion would be the last points scored by the Scots as a late flurry of tries for Italy somewhat took the shine off things.
A yellow card to Scotland prop Simon Berghan for repeated infringements at the scrum didn’t help matters, with Italy crossing three times in the final ten minutes which enveloped Berghan’s absence.
Palazzani got the first, which was duly added to by some smartly-worked moves which allowed Edoardo Padovani and Esposito to go over.
Those three rapid blows delivered in the closing stages must sharpen Scotland’s senses for the visit of Ireland next weekend.