The great wingers only need a hint of space to make something happen. A stellar defensive effort from Italy, responding well to going behind 14-0 in the opening 10 minutes, had hauled them level at 19-19 at the start of the second half, to leave Murrayfield feeling a little twitchy. Enter Darcy Graham. The way his quick feet bamboozle defences is not exactly news, given that Graham already has 29 tries in 43 caps and is right in the hunt for Scotland’s all-time try-scoring record. But when Scotland needed to settle, exhale and find a way to take the lead again, it was Graham who delivered.
Faced with no room and three defenders, he slammed on the brakes, weaved inside looking for a gap and then scorched through when it appeared. Michele Lamaro, the Italy captain, leapt desperately to try and stop him but his arms only wrapped around clear air. Even the timing of his assist to Huw Jones, waiting until the final second for the pass to create maximum space, was perfect. The whole break felt reminiscent of watching Shane Williams at his peak, the great Wales wing who was part of three British and Irish Lions tours. It would be incredibly disappointing if Graham is not wearing Lions red in Australia this summer. “Obviously, Darcy is world class at that,” Rory Darge, the Scotland co-captain, said of his winger’s game-defining break.
🪄 Darcy Graham the magician setting up Huw Jones for his second try 🤩#GuinnessM6N @Scotlandteam pic.twitter.com/tbXRaogs6x. Following that score Scotland seemed to relax and all was well again. Huw Jones’ hat-trick perhaps inevitably earnt him the player of the match award, but Darge, the first try-scorer, would have been just as worthy a recipient. No Lions selection area will be more hotly contested than the back row – yes, it is only the opening weekend of the Six Nations, but the tournament is essentially one big audition to impress Andy Farrell – yet Darge would have to be on Farrell’s longlist. He carries with real purpose, often leads Scotland’s tackle count (as he did here with 13) and chips in with key turnovers.
Not to do Jones a disservice. There is an art to the timing and positioning of his support lines. Even without his excellent centre partner Sione Tuipulotu, the Scotland captain missing the tournament through injury, Jones thrived. Huw Jones, hat-trick hero! 3️⃣. The Scotland centre bashing his way over the Italy defence for his third try of the afternoon at Murrayfield.#BBCRugby #SixNations #SCOvITA pic.twitter.com/mOZLx1drmw.
“It’s three tries today but I reckon Huw has probably missed out on five or six tries over the last few games because he has just not had the ball,” said Gregor Townsend, the Scotland coach. “He offers himself on brilliant lines that sometimes fixes defences and other people get the space. Today, the ball found him.”. With the way Italy impressed in last year’s championship, this always felt like a tricky opening number for Scotland. The mood afterwards from Townsend was that his side would benefit from that period of tension where Italy flipped the score from 19-9 at the interval to 19-19 within a couple of minutes, after good defensive work from their talented centres, a Tommaso Menoncello turnover penalty followed by Juan Ignacio Brex’s intercept try picking off a poorly timed pass by Finn Russell. It was far from Russell’s best game, but a sign of how well Scotland have developed is that their prospects did not entirely rest with him. Others picked up the mantle.
The interception 🤩#GuinnessM6N @Federugby pic.twitter.com/1eBQk62Cvd. “That is going to prepare us really well for the Tests to come. There are going to be times where the opposition gets momentum, scores, like today. It didn’t affect the players’ belief in what they needed to do to get the win,” added Townsend. That adversity tees Scotland up well for Ireland, a fixture they will be quietly desperate to win, having failed to do so since 2017. What they would give for another fast start similar to this one, with Darge’s score followed by a second try with a number of enjoyable details, including Jamie Ritchie’s pull-back pass and Duhan van der Merwe then somehow avoiding the touchline before putting Jones away. Dave Cherry’s excellent offload to set up Ben White, flicking a ball out the back, was outrageous for a front row as Scotland built that big half-time lead.
Italy should not be disheartened. They scrapped away here, making over 100 tackles by half-time to Scotland’s 32 and finishing with 208, successfully adjusting their defence and attack as they went, eradicating their defensive gaps and rushed passes. If they can keep attacking gremlins at bay then, based on the evidence from Paris, they will have too much for Wales in Rome. Thanks for joining me this afternoon as Scotland got off to a winning start in this Six Nations. Attention is now turning to Dublin, where Ireland face England at the Aviva Stadium in the match of the first round.
