SCOTLAND
Ollie Smith: A promising outing by the Warriors full-back, who gave a couple of glimpses of his elusive running and tricky footwork. 7 out of 10
Kyle Steyn: Defended as soundly as ever, although had little chance to show his attacking prowess as the Italian defence squeezed the space. 7
Huw Jones: Provided the assist for Van der Merwe’s try, but was less of a direct running threat than in his previous, highly successful Six Nations games. 7
Sione Tuipulotu: Once again Scotland’s biggest ball-carrying threat to the opponents’ defensive line, he also played an important role as a decoy in Kinghorn’s first try. 8
Duhan van der Merwe: Took his chance superbly to score from an apparently impossible position for Scotland’s first try, and had enough energy left at the end to start the counter-attack that ended with Kinghorn’s third try. 8
Blair Kinghorn: Strength and persistence were the key qualities in his first two tries, and he finished his hat-trick in inspired fashion by getting up in support of Van der Merwe. Second time he has scored three against the Italians. 8
Ben White: Linked up well with his pack in the first half and kept chipping away after the break before giving way to Ali Price. 7
Pierre Schoeman: Contributed substantially to the relentless driving work that ground down the Italian defence when Scotland were in the ascendancy. 7
George Turner: Fought hard to make an impact in the loose and got through a lot of work in the set piece too. 7
Zander Fagerson: As always, was a vital component of the Scots’ set piece, and carried with his customary combativeness. 7
Sam Skinner: Worked well alongside Jonny Gray in his first Six Nations start of the campaign. 7
Jonny Gray: A commanding presence in the lineout and a tireless grafter in the loose. 7
Jamie Ritchie: The captain put in some good work in the lineout and on the deck as Scotland did just enough to hold on for the win. 7
Hamish Watson: Added some extra zip and versatility on his return to the back row. 7
Jack Dempsey: Named man of the match, primarily thanks to some excellent defensive work on the ground. 8
Best of the rest:
Ewan Ashman: Helped bring some energy to the pack as the tide started to turn against the home team. 6
Ben Healy: Made his debut off the bench in the closing stages. 6
ITALY
Tommaso Allan: Scored all of Italy’s points with a try and three penalties, but missed another couple of shots at goal which could have been decisive. 7 Pierre Bruno: Few chances to showcase his electrifying pace and struggled to keep the busy Duhan van der Merwe in check, missing six tackles over the course of the match. 6
Juan Ignacio Brex: His usual busy self with some nice touches in attack but will perhaps feel he should have stopped Blair Kinghorn in the lead-up to the Scottish stand-off’s second try. 6
Luca Morisi: Tackled hard and ran with conviction when he got a chance, having come into the starting side as a late replacement for Tommaso Menoncello. 7
Simone Gesi: A crucial slap-down which prevented an Ollie Smith try at the end of the first half kept the game alive. 7 Paolo Garbisi: Deft grubber set up Italy’s try and his most accomplished all-round display of the campaign, which included some big contributions in defence. 7
Alessandro Fusco: Blew hot and cold, summed up by his electrifying break in the first half which came to nothing because he threw a loose pass to Gesi. 6 Danilo Fishcetti: A born competitor, who hung in there at scrum-time, was a real threat competing for the ball at ruck-time and carried well. 7
Giacomo Nicotera: Accurate at the line-out and hard working in the loose although he did miss five tackles. 6
Marco Riccioni: Perhaps harshly yellow-carded in first half when referee Angus Gardner lost patience with the number of scrums going down but struggled all afternoon at set-piece time. 6
Edoardo Iachizzi: Worked hard in his first Six Nations start but gave away a couple of costly penalties before being replaced earlier win the second half. 5
Federico Ruzza: Italy’s go-to man at line-out time and their top tackler with 21, which included a huge hit and steal on the ground which stopped Scotland in their tracks after an Ali Price's interception initiated a dangerous attack on 69 minutes. 7
Sebastian Negri: Key man in a muscular and abrasive back-row unit but there was one important missed tackle when Scotland scored at the start of the second half. 6
Michele Lamaro: A real leader of men who was instrumental in starving Scotland of possession and opportunities in the second half. 7
Lorenzo Cannone: Ran himself into the ground for an hour with some big carries and ferocious tackling before being replaced by Giovanni Pettinelli. 7
Best of the rest:
Niccolo Cannone added thrust to the visiting pack during the last half hour. 7
Alessandro Garbisi provided control from scrum-half which was lacking earlier on. 7
