The hosts raced to an early 14-0 lead when Rory Darge and Huw Jones scored in the first 10 minutes. Italy rallied, however, to pull level at 19-19 early in the second half thanks to Tommaso Allan, converting three penalties to make it 19-9 at half-time.  

A Huw Jones hat-trick got Scotland off to a winning start in a nervy Six Nations opener against Italy at Murrayfield.

Gregor Townsend’s team had raced into an early 14-0 lead when Rory Darge and Jones scored in the opening ten minutes

?? Scotland scores a simply stunning team try, Huw Jones dots it down ????#guinnessm6n pic.twitter.com/Yl2fEYw9y5

— Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 1, 2025

Scrum-half Ben White, from a gorgeous offload from hooker Dave Cherry, added a third before the end of a half that ended 19-9. Italy stayed in the contest thanks to Tommaso Allan's boot, and what looked like a pretty comfortable day for the Scots suddenly became anxious.

Allan made it 19-12 early in the second half with another penalty and, when Juan-Ignacio Brex intercepted Finn Russell for a converted try, it was level.

However, Scotland shifted into a higher gear with Jones scoring twice more to complete a hat-trick just after the hour. Italy had plenty of the ball in the closing stages but could not get closer on the scoreboard as Scotland crossed for five tries to the visitors’ one.

‘It forced us to play a bit of a complicated game’

After the game, Italy’s coach Gonzalo Quesada told Italian media house Rai that Scotland’s two quick tries in the beginning put them on the back foot right from the start.

“It’s a shame because we started the game with two tries that were too easy for them, we needed time to really get into the game,” he said.

“Between the end of the first half and the beginning of the second, it went better, we changed mentality and aggression in the contact area. We wanted to be in the game in the 60th minute and instead that (fourth) try freed Scotland and forced us to play a bit of a complicated game.

?????????????? Flower of Scotland

Murrayfield ?? pic.twitter.com/C56Oin02q9

— Scotland Rugby News (@ScotRugbyNews) February 1, 2025

Scotland’s head coach Gregor Townsend was full of praise for the grit and determination shown by his team. “I think a lot of the forwards provided a platform at times, they worked really hard,” he told the BBC.

“We had to defend our line on two or three occasions in that second half so it was a tough opening game but we managed to get the win. There was a physical challenge today. The most important element today was the mental challenge. To come together as a team on the field to find solutions and find a way to win which will be important in the next games.”

Next weekend, Italy will host Wales in Rome, while Scotland will host Ireland on Sunday at Murrayfield in Edinburgh.

OFM Sport/Ilse Smalberger cg