• Scotland 33-20 Italy
• Three late Italy tries in vain with Scotland well clear
BLAIR Kinghorn scored Scotland’s first Championship hat-trick in 30 years as the home team got their Six Nations campaign off to a competent start against a limited Italian side. Stuart Hogg and Chris Harris also touched down as Gregor Townsend’s team had the bonus point wrapped up with 25 minutes to play, but some chaos and confusion ensued in a final 10-minute spell which saw Italy, who previously had only a penalty to their name, claim three tries to put a gloss on the scoreline.
The sin-binning of the substitute Simon Berghan was the catalyst for that late lapse, and Townsend is well aware that his team will have to tighten up in some respects before Ireland visit Murrayfield on Saturday. On balance, however, the head coach was satisfied with a performance during which his team improved significantly on the autumn Tests in areas such as the breakdown and the kick chase.
Written by Stuart Bathgate at Murrayfield
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/feb/02/scotland-italy-six-nations-match-report under the title “Blair Kinghorn hat-trick sparks Scotland’s Six Nations victory over Italy”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
