Scotland survive a scare as Huw Jones hat-trick gets Six Nations off to winning start after Finn Russell error

One down, four to go. Scotland weren’t entirely convincing but their reputation as fast starters in the Guinness Six Nations was burnished by this bonus-point victory over an Italy side who gave them an almighty scare in the second half.

Gregor Townsend’s side have now won their opening match in the championship five years in a row. Stiffer tests lie ahead for the Scots, with Ireland due in Edinburgh next Sunday, but this was a case of job done for the hosts who won 31-19 at Murrayfield.

Huw Jones stole the show with a hat-trick but Rory Darge ran him close for the player of the match honours, leading by example in the absence of injured skipper Sione Tuipulotu and dominating at the breakdown. Darge and Russell, the two co-captains, jointly lifted the Cuttitta Cup at full-time. If more substantial silverware is to come their way the Scots will need to be a lot more ruthless.

Scotland's Huw Jones with the The Cuttitta Cup after scoring a hat-trick in the Six Nations win over Italy. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group) | SNS Group / SRU

They dominated for the most part and eventually outscored the visitors by five tries to one but Italy drew level at 19-19 early in the second half and memories of their win in Rome last year started to stir. But Scotland showed good character to not panic and trust their attacking processes. They responded with two good tries, both scored by Jones, the first after a brilliant break by Darcy Graham, playing in his first Six Nations campaign for almost three years.

Scotland’s other tries came from Darge and Ben White on a crisp Edinburgh afternoon in which they extended their unbeaten home record against the Italians to 10 years. Juan Ignacio Brex scored Italy’s try, exploiting a Russell error, and the sure-footed Tommaso Allan added 14 points with the boot.

This match marked the 25th anniversary of Italy joining the Six Nations but ultimately there was little to celebrate for the Azzurri who now face a huge match at home to Wales next weekend. They began sluggishly and ultimately couldn’t keep pace with the home side’s backline threats.

To be fair, it was a blistering start by the Scots who were two tries to the good inside the first eight-and-a-half minutes. Duhan van der Merwe and Blair Kinghorn in particular were finding space to run but it was Darge who got the opening score which was apt because it was the co-captain’s turnover which had allowed Scotland to go on the attack. They won a penalty close to the Italy line and, after a tap and go from Dave Cherry, the ball was moved wide to Darge who forced his way over despite the attentions of three Italian defenders.

Scotland's Ben White celebrates his first half try in the Six Nations win over Italy. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group) | SNS Group / SRU

Try number two was the result of slick passing off the back of a Scotland lineout and van der Merwe showed good awareness to play in Jones. The winger was haring down the left flank but checked back inside and had the intelligence to spot the pass. It took a deflection before it reached Jones but the centre finished the move for his 20th Scotland try.

Russell had converted both to have Scotland 14-0 up but there followed a slight lull. Worryingly, van der Merwe required treatment on the ankle he had injured recently while playing for Edinburgh and then Italy got points on the board through two penalties from Allan, the second from close to halfway.

The visitors had hardly threatened but the home lead had been reduced to a mere eight points. Scotland needed a response and they got one from Cherry. The hooker had been a surprise inclusion, having not been in a national squad since the 2023 World Cup, but he showed great skill to assist White for the third Scotland try. He peeled off the back of a lineout maul then produced a delightful one-handed offload for the scrum-half. White finished things off and immediately congratulated the Edinburgh man.

Russell was off target with the conversion, his first miss of the afternoon, and Allan’s third penalty just before half-time made it 19-9 at the turn.

Huw Jones scores Scotland's fourth try of the match and his second en route to bagging a hat-trick against Italy. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group) | SNS Group / SRU

Scotland were controlling the game but the scoreboard didn’t fully reflect that and when Allan landed his fourth penalty early in the second half the lead was reduced to seven points. Incredibly - given the balance of play - Italy drew level five minutes into the second half after an aberration by Russell. The stand-off had been trying to find Jones with a short pass but it was read by Brex who ran in the intercept try from halfway. Allan’s conversion made it 19-19.

There was a collective gasp around Murrayfield as what looked like a convincing Scotland performance was teetering on the brink of collapse. They needed inspiration and Graham provided it. The little winger had been relatively quiet in the first half but exploded into life at the halfway point of the second. The Scots ran the ball from a scrum deep inside their own half and when Graham received the ball wide on the right he cut back inside and eliminated three Italian defenders in the process. It was brilliant stuff and the supporting Jones was on hand to take the pass and bag his second try.

Russell’s conversion made it 26-19 and Scotland made sure five minutes later when Jones completed his hat-trick. Again, it was an attack from a scrum. Graham went left but was closed down so the Scots switched to the right and replacement Tom Jordan found Jones with a long pass. The centre showed great strength and dexterity to hold off the attentions of three Italians before stretching out to score.

Scorers: Scotland:Tries: Darge, Jones 3, White. Cons: Russell 3.

Italy: Try: Brex. Con: Allan. Pens: Allan 4.

Scotland: B Kinghorn; D Graham (K Rowe 72), H Jones, S McDowall (T Jordan 57), D van der Merwe; F Russell, B White (G Horne 57); P Schoeman (R Sutherland 51), D Cherry (E Ashman 51), Z Fagerson (W Hurd 68), J Gray (G Brown 57), G Gilchrist, J Ritchie (J Dempsey 51), R Darge, M Fagerson.

Italy: T Allan; A Capuozzo, J I Brex, T Menoncello (A Garbisi 62), M Ioane (S Gesi 67); P Garbisi, M Page-Relo; D Fischetti (L Rizzoli 67), G Nicotera (G Lucchesi 51), S Ferrari (M Riccioni 51), D Lamb (N Cannone 58), F Ruzza (N Cannone 43-54), S Negri, M Lamaro (M Zulinai 62), L Cannone (R Vintcent 54).

Referee: Karl Dickson (Eng).