Six Nations Review - Scotland 34 - 10 Italy

I saw Ridley Scott’s Prometheus last summer.  As a big fan of the Alien films (well, the first two), I walked into the cinema with a clear view of want I wanted to see, what I hoped to see and, most importantly, what I expected to see.  What followed was two hours of self-indulgent, directionless dirge that left me feeling a fool for expecting the alleged prequel of a critically acclaimed franchise to match up to its predecessors.  It’s why I try and now measure any positive expectation of an upcoming event with a healthy dose of pessimism to avoid the inevitable come-down that is endured following another disappointment.  Which, is why, prior to the Scotland v Italy game, I was trying to keep a lid on my optimism that this fixture may, for the first time, throw up some decent rugby.

Scotland had come into the game off the back of a heavy defeat against England at Twickenham, but the Scots had shown enough ambition off the counterattack to blow a gust of hope refreshingly up their kilts.  Italy on the other hand, had embraced the euphoria of a resounding opening win over the French in which they displayed on offloading game previously unseen by Italian fans and, in all likelihood, the Italian players themselves – and, try as I might, it was sublime to watch.  So, try as I might, I couldn’t shake a growing excitement that this game, despite being the apparent ‘undercard’ of this weekend’s action, may be a bit of a belter.

From the moment Ruaridh Jackson’s boot commenced the afternoon’s action, any expectation of a high-tempo and ambitious approach by both sides was justified – despite damp conditions, both teams were taking the ball at pace and looking to offload.  In the first 10 minutes, Scotland were looking more lively in defence and in attack, with fullback Stuart Hogg and winger Tim Visser – who had been anonymous in his last outing– making yards, before a massive hit from Italian openside Simone Favaro led to a turnover.  The game was being played with all the organisational structure of a lunchtime recess at a nursery school, with the ball being turned over with a resounding frequency owing to the somewhat chaotic combination of manic offloads and a wet ball.  Despite Scotland threatening more with the ball in hand, Italy had the first chance to put points on the board following an infringement by big Jim Hamilton at the lineout, but last week’s hero Luciano Orquero could only hit the post with his penalty attempt.

Orquero looked like he might be having a bit of hit-and-miss afternoon after a perfectly weighted grubber and a flick pass was followed up with an aimless kick and a fumble into touch.  From the Italian 10’s mistake, Scotland made inroads into Italian territory, with Gray and Hamilton playing a frankly terrifying version of netball to keep the Scottish move alive.  The Italians were eventually penalised for not releasing and scrum-half Greg Laidlaw made them pay by nudging Scotland in front 3 – 0.

Laidlaw then had the crowd on their feet twice in quick succession – firstly slamming the ball into referee Jaco Peyper’s head from point-blank range in a display of astonishing insubordination, and then by kicking another penalty goal following a good piece of work at the break down by centre Matt Scott after the lively Italian scrum-half, Tobias Botes, had made a dart.  By now, Scotland were dominating the collisions - especially in defence - as if in response to the criticisms levelled at them last week, and consequently were starting to take a hold territory. They very nearly had their reward following an absolute howler by Italian winger Giovanbattista Venditti, who tried to hack clear a loose ball but had the small issue of his boot missing the ball by roughly a meter.  Matt Scott got the ball in his hands following the error and was only prevented from scoring by a magnificent covering tackle from Botes.

Scotland didn’t have to wait long, however, before their moment came.  With Italy failing to clear their lines, Jackson made a half break and offloaded to Visser, who stepped inside the cover defence to touch down for his 5^th international try.

The try seemed to reinvigorate the Azzurri, who responded with a series of wonderful offloads, with significant yardage being made by the outstanding Favaro.  Despite superb work at the breakdown by captain Kelly Brown , the continued pressure led to a penalty chance for Orquera on the stroke on half time, and this time the elfish-Manuel-look-a-like made no mistake.  Italy were finally on the board but were 10 points down at the break, though they must have thought if they could get the next try, they were back in it.

The try came early in the second half, but it was the Scottish who pooped the Italian’s party via magnificent set piece move; Maitland came in off the blindside wing to flip a classy offload to Scott who, this time, did have the pace to get away from the cover and get over for a deserved try. 

The Italians, to their credit, did not wave the white flag at this point – they are not French after all.  Indeed it looked like they were on the road to a comeback when a perfectly weighted cross-kick from Orquera was gathered by centre Gonzalo Canale, before the excellent Andrea Masi made a burst up the left hand touchline and offloaded back to the Italian 10.  Orquera only had to draw Stuart Hogg and pass to put Tommasso Benvenuti in for a try that would drag the Italians right back into it – instead though, Orquera threw the ball straight into the grateful Hogg’s hands, who looked almost surprised as he gassed his way over to the tryline from 90 metres for his 2^nd try in 2 games.

The territory and possession seemed to be all in the hands of the Azzurri, but they just couldn’t make anything work – even when they went back to their beloved scrum, where debutant Rob Harley sneakily knocked the ball out of Parisses mitts, enabling Scotland to clear.

 
And yet again the Scottish were clinical.  The Maitland-Scott axis nearly paid off again but was called back for a forward pass by the former Canterbury man, before centre Sean Lamont picked up a loose ball from the ruck to gallop away down the field for a try, following a brainless tap-and-go by isolated Italian replacement 9 Edoardo Gori.
 
Italy had time enough at the end to remind us what they can do when Alessandro Zanni went over following a gorgeous no-look pass from Parisse, but it was little consolation to the Azzurri who, despite having the lion’s share of possession and showing plenty of ambition, were about as precise as a monkey writing shorthand.  For the Scots, on the other hand it was a case of hope fulfilled; expectation met.  It may not have been discovery-of-the-origins-of-the-human-race stuff, but it was pretty impressive none the less, and left most Scottish supporters leaving with a good sense of satisfaction – a feeling that has been alien to Murraryfield for far too long.

 

Scotland Player Ratings

Hogg – 7 – Not quite as prominent as last week, but looked sharp and showed great pace again for his try
Maitland – 7 – Wonderful offload for Scott’s try, tried hard to make things happen when he was on the ball
Lamont – 6 – Quiet throughout the game until a well taken try following disruptive work at ruck time
Scott – 8 – Much better by the centre, a thoroughly deserved try and was a real menace at the breakdown
Visser – 7 – Questions still need to be answered about his defence but there was no questioning the class of his finish for his try
Jackson – 6 – With a more dominant pack, was able to play with a quietly effective efficiency throughout
Laidlaw – 9 – A fine game by the scrum-half – took control of proceedings and kicked with aplomb off the tee and from hand.
Grant – 6 – Decent effort at scrum time but still need to see more of him in the loose.
Ford – 6 – Acquitted himself well in the carry but the lineout throwing was a little shakey at times
Murray – 6 – Needs to show that he is more than just a solid scrummager, but helped win a key scrum penalty close to his line
Gray – 7 – A marauding kick chase and tackle was a highlight of a decent afternoon’s work by the big Sale lock
Hamilton – 6 – much better from Big Jim, abrasive and physical and helped lead a raised Scottish intensity this match
Harley – 6 – Solid debut.  Was brushed off a couple of tackles but his energy around the park was impressive
Brown – 9 – Magnificent stuff from the captain, winning three turnovers and was the chief reason behind the Italian lack of quick ball (man of the match)
Beattie – 7 – Strong running and defence from the big Montpellier man but he would have wanted the game to open up a bit more
 
Replacements used:
Low – 6 – Good contribution to the scrum and helped stabilise the set piece.
Cross – No time to make an impact
Kellock – 5 – Got about in the loose well but no real significant contribution
Denton – No time to make an impact
Pyrgos – No time to make an impact
Evans – 6 – Looked lively when he had the ball and tried to inject pace into moves.

 

Italy Player Ratings

Masi – 8 – Italy’s best player in the backline. Inventive and direct in attack, solid in defence; the Scots were wary of him

Venditti – 5 – Not a lot of quality ball this week, and made a fool of himself with a terrible attempt at a clearance kick
Benvenuti – 5 – Saw very little of the ball to showcase his undoubted skill set
Canale – 6 – Not a lot he could do to change the result but invariably broke the gainline
McLean – 5 – Saw very little ball and was almost anonymous
Orquera – 5 – Moments of genius were followed up by mistakes.  Needed to be calm and consistent today.
Botes – 7 – Presented a threat around the fringes and made an outstanding covering tackle on Scott to save a try
Lo Cicero – 5 – Invisible in the loose once more and couldn’t dominate his side of the scrum.  Not the ideal way to spend your 100^th cap
Ghiraldini – Lineout wobbled a bit but was prominent with the ball in hand again
Castrogiovanni – 6 – Got through a shed load of work on the carry, did his best to exert some authority on the opposition
Geldenhuys – 5 – Carried often but not always effectively; often running sideways or getting isolated
Minto – 6 – Notable contribution around the park, showing off his mobility well.
Zanni – 6 – A quiet day at the office but stuck at the task and was rewarded with a well earned try
Favaro – 9 – An unsung hero of an otherwise beaten Italian pack.  Carried hard, stole ball and tackled like a man possessed
Parisse – 6 – Struggled to impose himself with several uncharacteristic dropped balls prominent.  Gorgeous pass for Zanni’s try though.  
 

Replacements used:

Giazzon – 5 – Did not have an impact in the set piece or the loose.

De Marchi – 4 – The scrum had been solid but conceded a couple of penalties when he came on
Cittadini – 5 – Despite not having a great set piece he did make an effort on the carry
Pavanello – 5 – Solid in the lineout but quiet elsewhere
Derbyshire – 6 – Some notable carries got the Azzurri on the front foot late on.
Gori – 4 – Tried to inject tempo but only succeeded in running around like a headless chicken, coughing up a turnover for Lamont’s try.
Burton – 6 – Some iffy passes but kicked calmly and tried to restore some composure to the ranks