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Huw Jones came to the fore in the absence of fellow centre Sione Tuipulotu as his hat-trick helped Scotland fend off another Italy comeback to open their Six Nations campaign with a 31-19 win at Murrayfield.
Much had been made of the injury to their influential captain in the build-up to the championship, but the Scots looked unaffected as they opened up a 14-0 advantage in the first 10 minutes and led 19-6 at the break through scores from Rory Darge, Jones and Ben White.
But Italy, who fought back from 22-10 down to defeat the Scots 31-29 in Rome last March, once again produced a spirited fightback, with the boot of Tommaso Allan and a breakaway try from Juan Ignacio Brex levelling things up at 19-19 heading into the final quarter.
However, the Scots held their nerve to win their opening fixture in the Six Nations for the fifth year in succession as two further tries from Jones – Tuipulotu’s trusty midfield sidekick for both club and country – took the game away from the Azzurri just as they were starting to scent a first win at Murrayfield for 10 years.
Gregor Townsend’s players had spoken extensively in the build-up about how they now possess the mindset required to compete at the sharp end of the tournament, and they signalled their intent with a strong start.
Following a sustained spell of early pressure, co-captain Darge bulldozed his way over on the right with less than four minutes on the clock, and his fellow skipper Finn Russell duly converted.
The Scots continued in the ascendancy and scored again in the ninth minute. Duhan van der Merwe looked set to burst away on the left but was slowed down by Allan before the wing flicked the ball inside to Jones, who was able to dart in for a simple finish behind the posts. Russell again added the extras.
There was momentary concern for the hosts when record try-scorer Van der Merwe required treatment on the ankle that had been causing him problems in the weeks leading up to the championship, but he was able to continue.
The Italians got their first points on the board in the 21st minute when Allan – whose father John played for Scotland in the early 1990s – kicked a long-distance penalty, and the full-back repeated the feat a few minutes later to bring his side within eight minutes.
Scotland appeared to have steadied the ship, however, when they scored their third try on the half hour. After being awarded a penalty just inside the Italy half, Russell declined the chance to take the three points and instead kicked for the corner.
It paid off as the lineout maul resulted in hooker Dave Cherry – on his first Scotland appearance since September 2023 – producing a delightful offload for scrum-half White, who dived over on the right. Russell was off target with the conversion attempt.
Allan kicked another long-distance penalty to keep Italy in contention at the break, and four minutes after the restart he did so again.
Remarkably, Italy got themselves level in the 46th minute as Brex intercepted Russell’s pass to Jones inside the Azzurri half and raced clear, celebrating well before he crossed the line. Allan continued his flawless kicking with a close-range conversion, tying the scores at 19-19.
With anxiety growing among the home support, the Scots regained the lead in the 61st minute as Darcy Graham – making his first Six Nations appearance since March 2022 – produced an exquisite line-break to get himself motoring towards the danger zone and then offloaded for Jones, who had another easy finish. Russell nailed the conversion to ease the tension.
Jones then produced some magnificent footwork on the right to complete his treble in the 66th minute. Russell was off target with the conversion, but the Scots were well on their way to a bonus-point win that sets them up nicely for next Sunday’s Murrayfield showdown with Ireland.
