Blair Kinghorn helped himself to a hat-trick to ensure Scotland brought a close to their Six Nations campaign after an error-ridden 26-14 success over Italy.
The Edinburgh wing stunning treble combined with Duhan van der Merwe also diving over during a erratic display against an Azzurri side which staged a second-half fightback which threatened to earn them victory. A dramatic and nerve-shredding end to the Murrayfield clash had the Italians laying siege to the Scottish line before Kinghorn eased the tension with a score in the final seconds.
It was also something of a watershed occasion with both Finn Russell and Stuart Hogg absent from Scotland Six Nations line-up as a pair for the first time in 11-years. Those injuries did offer an opportunity for the likes of Kinghorn and Ollie Smith to impress from the start. Much of the messaging pre-match from the home camp had been words of caution over what to expect from an Italian side which has earned newfound credibility and respect given their recent performances. It would soon prove to be a well warranted warning.
That said, Italy arrived in Edinburgh winless and with nothing to lose in this campaign closer and nothing less than a Scotland success would be contemplated by the majority of fans which again had sold-out the stadium. With four minutes on the clock the Azzurri should have put the first points on the board but Tommaso Allan slashed his penalty wide of the posts and with it went his side's chance to seize an early initiative.
If that was careless, it would get worse for Italy as they squandered a terrific opportunity to bag the first try after squeezing Scotland back and only a loose throw to touch allowed Scotland off the hook.
Italy would get their deserved lead in the eighth minute after Allan was more accurate with another penalty with the dark blues on the back foot.
Slowly but surely Scotland began to display some of the attacking verve which has been such a feature of their Six Nations play this season and it was one such flowing surge in the 12th minute through Duhan van der Merve who showed astonishing power and agility to touch down in the corner. Kinghorn failed to add the extras from wide on the left but Townsend's side had at least steadied the ship.
That lead would last only a few seconds as Allan fired over another penalty to edge Italy 6-5 ahead and a few alarm bells began ringing.
Scotland were enjoying supreme dominance but there was a wasteful and error-ridden element to their play which prevented glorious try scoring situations from being exploited.
That sustained pressure forced a yellow card just before the half hour mark after Italy refused to heed repeated warnings for collapsing the scrum and Marco Riccioni went to the bin. The numerical advantage paid dividend immediately as Kinghorn pierced a hole in the Azzurri backline to dive over and the Edinburgh playmaker converted to put Scotland 12-6 ahead.
Four minutes after the restart Scotland surged further ahead as again the applied unsustainable pressure on the Italian defence and Kinghorn was on hand to dive over from close-range and he again finished off his own score by adding the extras.
Italy then enjoyed some territory of their own as they attempted to pull themselves back into the contest but they squandered several situations where they looked set to breach the Scottish line.
Allan would grab his side a try in the corner with 63 minutes on the clock before failing with his conversion but he had squeezed the scoreboard to within eight points and he fired over a penalty moments later to cut Scotland's lead down further.
There was now belief within the Italians that a rare win was within their reach and they applied all of the late pressure but ropey Scotland survived and Kinghorn would grab his stunning treble with an exhilarating last act as he made the supporting run before diving over for the hat-trick.
Here are three talking points from today:
Dark blue dreaming
Scotland's failure to make the most of Italy's yellow card on the half hour mark was stark as there was dozy and careless approach to making the most of a succession of opportunities to make the visitors pay. That slackness was apparent throughout an unimpressive and somewhat flat first half where Gregor Townsend's side didn't get through the gears in they they have been in the opening 40 minutes of all of their previous Six Nations games this season.
Two tries were scored during that period but the truth was they should have put another couple on the board and that inability to maximise their dominance only served to fuel Italy's belief they remained in the hunt.
There was plenty of good work from the hosts but mistakes marred the display in that first half despite getting themselves further ahead straight after the interval, it was a story of errors and had Italy been more clinical then Scotland would have been in some trouble. Italy wouldn't have been grudged a win had they managed to turn the screw on Scotland when they had them under the gun.
Wow factor
The acrobatic and spectacular score by Duhan van der Merwe was another collector's item which defied physics for such a hugely built man. The execution of that try which edged Scotland into a lead was a thing of beauty and underlined the Edinburgh wing's importance to the side. This is a player who has been in superb form in recent months but his ability to score tries with some style and dramatic flair has been the added bonus.
Scotland's attacking threats are now well established but the South African born powerhouse has been as good as any of the attacking threats seen during this campaign.
Pace to burn and the strength to shrug off tackles, van der Merwe will be a key man for the Scots during the upcoming World Cup this autumn.
Food for thought
Opportunity knocked for Blair Kinghorn who assumed the role as playmaker with Finn Russell sidelined through injury but it was clear that lack of world class invention prevented Scotland from being as slick as they needed to be.
The Edinburgh man did score three tries but his kicking and decision making were a few levels down on what Russell has been delivering. Ollie Smith was also handed a start and he caught the eye at full-back as replacement for Stuart Hogg and he did his chances no harm with a dynamic display.
This is a Scottish squad with genuine strength and depth and Gregor Townsend was able to deploy some of the players who have been champing at the bit throughout this campaign. One eye has always been on the World Cup in France this autumn and this group will be boosted by the fact they have shown real progress with several huge performances during this Six Nations.
A fit Finn Russell, Richie Gray and Stuart Hogg is always key for this side though but this win over Italy without their big names will have done the confidence no harm.
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