Scotland 31-19 Italy: Huw Jones scores hat-trick as hosts survive scare to make profitable begin to Six Nations marketing campaign

Lamenting the loss of one influential Glasgow Warriors centre in Sione Tuipulotu, Scotland had cause to thank another as they eventually forged past Italy to get their Six Nations campaign off to a positive start.

Tuipulotu’s absence due to injury would be keenly felt in any line-up and Gregor Townsend’s side could certainly have done with their captain’s presence here, especially during a mid-match wobble in which their visitors drew level and threatened to pull off another upset.

Scotland were reeling having blown a 14-point lead and memories of a similar collapse in Rome last year sprung to mind as Italy sensed the chance to push on and claim a first Murrayfield victory since 2015.

Instead, the Scots survived that period of uncertainty and went on to score two further tries, to add to the three claimed before the interval, to kill off lingering Italian resistance and land an opening-day bonus point.

Both of those second-half tries were scored by Huw Jones, the less fashionable half of the ‘Huwipulotu’ partnership, as he bagged a hat-trick to fill the void left by his team-mate and good friend, Tuipulotu.

The Murrayfield crowd, having been put through the wringer during that second-half spell when the result suddenly looked very much in doubt, went home happy after watching Finn Russell and Rory Darge lifting the Cuttitta Cup as fireworks shot into the Edinburgh sky.

On reflection, however, there will surely also come a recognition that this was a flawed victory from a performance that again called into question Scotland’s ability to play at full throttle for the full 80 minutes.

Beating Italy at home was a non-negotiable if Townsend’s side were to have any chance of competing for the title but, having ticked that box, Scotland will need to step it up again next weekend when Ireland are the visitors to Murrayfield.

Italy did not pose any real sustained attacking threat but, with Tomasso Allan flawless off the tee, they were always in contention until Scotland’s late rally finally blew them away.

Ireland will present a much tougher assignment and the Scots will need to match them if they are to finally defeat their nemesis.

Townsend and his players had underlined the importance of a fast start – both in the match and in the tournament itself – and duly lived up to that promise by landing two tries in the opening 10 minutes.

A Rory Darge turnover and then a trademark Duhan van der Merwe charge down the flank soon carried them deep into the Italian 22. Dave Cherry’s tap-and-go penalty took them closer to the line and, when play was recycled, Ben White picked out Darge who bustled his way past three or four white shirts to reach for the line. Finn Russell knocked over the extras.

That seemed to settle the nerves of the crowd early on and they soon were back on their feet cheering a second Scotland try. It stemmed from the scrum, Jamie Ritchie involved in working the ball wide to van der Merwe who, in a manner similar to one of his scores against England last year, looked set to motor down the touchline to score.

Instead, the Edinburgh flier elected to use his brain rather than simply relying on brawn. Sensing he was in danger of being shoved into touch, van der Merwe aimed a pass inside that bounced off Nacho Brex and into the hands of the lurking Jones who sped under the posts for a simple score. Russell again added the extras.

Italy were reeling from that early onslaught but soon steadied themselves and gained a foothold in the contest thanks to two excellent penalties from distance.

Both were lashed over within a two-minute spell by Allan, the former Scotland under-20 prospect, after Jonny Gray was pinged for offside and then Russell penalised for sealing off, an intervention that underlined that Scotland weren’t going to get things all their own way.

The tone was now set for a frenetic, high-octane contest, with only that rarity – a Russell knock-on after becoming the meat in an Italian defensive sandwich – stopping Scotland from getting over the line again.

A third try, however, wasn’t far away and it was a moment of magic from Cherry that made it happen. If there had been eyebrows raised at the 34-year-old returning to the starting line-up for the first time since before the World Cup then he showed here it was not just for his accurate line-out darts.

Fastening on to the ball at the back of a Scotland maul, Cherry broke free down the blindside and charged towards the line. When the Edinburgh hooker was stopped just short he still had the instinctive brilliance to play a lay-off out the back of the hand to White who gratefully gathered to score.

For once, Russell couldn’t convert but Scotland looked back in control of a compelling contest, although another inch-perfect Allan kick off the tee meant the hosts’ lead was only 10 points at the interval, a relatively scant advantage given they led the try count 3-0.

Indiscipline couldn’t be blamed either, with Scotland conceding only four penalties in the first half but Allan making them pay on three of those occasions with his laser-like kicks.

The full-back seemed on a mission to single-handedly keep Italy in contention and drew his side closer still with another lash from the tee after Matt Fagerson was pinged for holding on.

That storming Scotland start was in danger of fading to a memory and Murrayfield was stunned almost into silence – beyond the pockets of gleeful visiting fans – when Italy drew level with the simplest of tries.

Russell has so often been Scotland’s shining light for the past decade but goodness knows what he was thinking as he threw a lazy pass in the direction of Jones.

Brex had spotted his intentions and easily made the intercept before coasting 40 yards up the pitch before finishing with a spectacular flourish between the posts. Allan’s conversion tied it all up at 19-19, with this now anyone’s game.

The tension was almost palpable but it was finally broken by a piece of individual brilliance by Darcy Graham. The winger hadn’t featured too prominently in the opening hour but sensed his moment as the ball went wide into his hands from a Scotland scrum.

Rather than dashing down the line, Graham cut inside and sped away from the Italian defence before feeding Jones to score. That settled the crowd and another try from the same man – set up by Tom Jordan – landed the fifth try and made sure of the victory.