Scotland have continued their strong form from Autumn Internationals with a resounding victory over Italy in their first match of the 2019 Six Nations.
Two tries in the first half from the impressive of Blair Kinghorn, as well as strong running from the debutant Sam Johnson and the oft impressive Stuart Hogg set the tone for the Scots, who were rarely troubled by the Italians.
Despite the positive performances from the back three, Scotland struggled in the scrum; with Italy’s strength in the pack causing significant problems for Allan Dell and in particular WP Nel, who was guilty of several collapses in the first 40 minutes.
The second half led to three more Scotland tries, led by the outstanding open-field running of Stuart Hogg, Kinghorn sealing his hattrick and Finn Russell dictating the game with his usual flair, securing the four-try bonus point to top the table as things stand.
Italy scored three consolation tries but ultimately were outclassed by a quality Scotland side.
Here is how I rated the Scotland team’s performance:
