ROME (AP) Scotland ended a run of nine defeats in the Six Nations by defeating Italy 36-20 at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.
The Scots hadn't won in the tournament since their last visit to Rome two years ago, and made a flying start to boost their confidence. John Barclay and John Hardie scored tries and captain Greg Laidlaw was almost perfect with his kicking as they led 17-3.
Italy grew as the match went on and rallied on several occasions, especially when lock Marco Fuser scored his first try for the Azzurri with flyhalf Finn Russell in the sin-bin. Kelly Haimona added the extras for Italy to close to within six points with 17 minutes left.
With five minutes to go, Italy had a man advantage again and was attacking near the Scotland 22 when the ball was spilled, Scotland counterattacked, and Tommy Seymour sealed the result with their third try.
