Scotland beat Italy 31-19 at Murrayfield in Six Nations opener

Scotland have beaten Italy 31-19 in their opening Guinness Six Nations match at Murrayfield.

Much had been made of the injury to their influential captain in the build-up to the championship, but in the opening minutes, Scotland got a quick ball and Rory Darge just about got himself to the line.

Duhan van der Merwe then escaped down the left-hand touchline, and found Huw Jones who had a clear run to the line to make it 14-0.

Scotland went on to lead 19-6 at the break through 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.

At the scores all level, Hawick flyer Darcy Graham found some space on the right ducked inside and put Huw Jones away to score his second try of the game.

Jones then held off two would-be tacklers to reach out and score his hat trick and Scotland’s fifth try of the game.

Simone Gesi broke through but lost possession with the try-line beckoning, allowing Murrayfield to breathe a sigh of relief.

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.