Scotland v Italy winners and losers: ‘Electric’ Huw Jones ‘answers doubters’ while ‘underrated’ back proves Lions credentials
Scotland backline duo Huw Jones and Darcy Graham.
Following Scotland’s 31-19 win over Italy at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Planet Rugby runs through the key winners and losers.
Winners
Huw Jones
The big winner of the day was hat-trick hero Huw Jones, as he proved his doubters wrong with a brilliant display. There was a lot of noise about how he would go without partner-in-crime Sione Tuipulotu alongside him, but his three tries show he is still just as brilliant. Away from his scores, he was just electric all afternoon and found himself at the heart of everything Scotland did well. Sensational work from the Glasgow man.
Dave Cherry
There were a few raised eyebrows at his selection this week, considering his extended absence from the Test side, but boy did he burn bright on his re-entry. His delicious Sonny Bill-esq offload might be what catches the headlines, and rightfully so considering he’s a hooker, but he was more than willing to put in the hard graft around the park and did an excellent job in the set-piece. A welcome return for Cherry.
Ben White
A lot of the talk around Scotland is centred on his half-back partner Finn Russell, but Ben White was the standout performer from the pair against Italy. He was able to inject serious fizz into the Scotland attack, but crucially his crisp, accurate passing gave them a platform that then allowed the rest of it to flourish. Also made some very good decisions when needed.
Rory Darge
Lionsy performance from the Scotland co-captain, and it will certainly give his chances of donning the red jersey this summer the world of good. He is becoming renowned for his breakdown work, but against the Azzurri, he just seemed to spawn in pretty much every ruck, which in turn really limited the Italian attack. Also made some decent in-roads with ball-in-hand too. Very, very Lionsy.
Darcy Graham
I’ll die on this hill, but there actually might not be a player more underrated in rugby right now than Darcy Graham. The pocket rocket is simply magical when given the ball in space, and he proved a consistent threat against Italy. His break for Jones’ second was potentially the highlight of the game too. If he keeps this up, he will be right in the mix for a Lions call-up.
Scotland bench
Italy really did threaten to take the game from Scotland at one point, particularly after Ignacio Brex’s try, however, the Scotland bench came to the rescue and pulled the win back. Tom Jordan and Jack Dempsey, in particular, added some real impact, George Horne gave a good account of himself and Will Hurd was also pretty solid.
Tommasso Allen
The former Scotland age-grade player nearly came back to haunt Gregor Townsend’s side, as he knocked over 14 of his side’s 19 points. He also added a nice dynamic to their attack as he gave that extra ball-playing option in the back-field, which got them playing some tasty rugby at times.
Brexoncello combination
Arguably the best centre pairing in the world right now, the combination of Tommasso Menoncello and Ignacio Brex (Brexoncello) were once again excellent. Everything that went well for the Azzurri seemed to have their fingerprints on it – particularly the clever interception try from Brex. They also fronted up well in defence and came up with some crucial interventions when Scotland looked threatening. Italy could, and probably will, cause a serious upset if they can replicate this level of performance throughout the Championship.
Italian front-row
Scotland’s scrum has been formidable at times this past year, however, the Italian front-row of?Danilo Fischetti,?Giacomo Nicotera and?Simone Ferrari arguably had the upper hand throughout. They managed to put their Scottish counterparts under serious pressure in the scrum, which gave Italy a decent foothold back into the game after Scotland’s fast start, and they also excelled around the park too.
Losers?
Scottish front-row
Just wasn’t their usual scrummaging performance, however, most of this should be put down to the sheer quality of the Italian opposition rather than their failure, as they did show some good fight under the pump.
Finn Russell
It was just an inconsistent performance we’re not used to seeing from the classy fly-half, but it is hopefully just a blip.?When he was good, he was exceptional, but when he was poor it nearly cost his team dearly. Again, given his past showings, you’d think this is just a blip.
Ange Cappuozzo
Really quiet from the livewire Toulouse back, who is still yet to fully deliver on his promise at Test level after bursting onto the scene a few years ago. Scotland managed him well, and Italy didn’t really utilise him to his full potential either, but it was just disappointing to see him this quiet given the form he’s in at club level.
Monty Ioane
Could almost copy and paste the above into here really, just a quiet day for the usually brilliant back. Again, though, Scotland managed him well in defence and Italy didn’t give him much ball to work with.
Giacomo Nicotera
Whilst he was excellent in the scrum, the lineout proved a real issue all afternoon and he will be kicking himself as a result. These errors at the lineout ended up costing Italy golden opportunities, and gave Scotland an easy reprieve when the pressure was on.