5 Talking Points: Gregor Townsend and Rory Darge react to Scotland's win over Italy
Today at 05:58 AM
By Cameron Archibald
Huw Jones ran in a hat-trick as Scotland opened the Men's Six Nations with an unconvincing 31-19 victory over Italy. Co-captain Rory Darge and Ben White also crossed as the hosts fended off a spirited Azzurri performance at Murrayfield.
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Darge, alongside head coach Gregor Townsend, faced the media at the national stadium, covering Jones' try-scoring masterclass, Dave Cherry's international return and more as their side made it eight wins in their last nine internationals.
- Huw Jones' hat-trick of tries & backs' performance – Townsend impressed with centre's form
Jones ran in Scotland's second, fourth and fifth tries to move joint-sixth in the all-time try scoring list for his country. The 54-cap Glasgow centre has been in fine form of late and crashed over the crucial scores to break the 19-19 deadlock for his side.
GREGOR TOWNSEND: "He scored three tries today, but I reckon Huw has probably missed out on another five or six tries over the last few games because he's just not had the ball. He supports really well and today the ball found him. It was through his work off the ball.
"The backline functioned really well as a unit, they're playing for each other and supporting each other no matter who's playing.
Obviously Sione [Tuipulotu] isn't available for the Six Nations but Stafford McDowall came in and did really well, doing a lot of the hard work."
- Early second half slip – Townsend & Darge on mentality in difficult moments
Scotland took a 19-9 lead into the interval but quickly allowed Italy to level through a Tommaso Allan penalty and a Nacho Brex breakaway try. However, the hosts managed to rally for two late Jones scores to come through the opening fixture with maximum points.
GREGOR TOWNSEND: "To go through that test when we were leading for most of the game and then go 19-19 and come through it, that's going to prepare us really well for the tests that are going to come. There are going to be times where the opposition get momentum… but today it didn't affect the players' belief in what they needed to do to win.
"I don't think it was a drop-off. They scored an intercept try. We had a couple of opportunities in the 22 where they turned us over. So you have to adjust."
RORY DARGE: "It was just about going back to what we were doing well in the first half. We responded well to going 19-19. It was a bit of a test of how you respond to that, but I thought we did really well."
- Dave Cherry's international return & Jonny Gray coming back from injury
Edinburgh hooker Cherry was a surprise returner to the international fold, winning his first cap today since Scotland faced South Africa at the 2023 Rugby World Cup. The 34-year-old has performed well at club level in recent weeks to warrant his recall from Townsend, and produced a wonderful offload to tee up Ben White's first-half score. Experienced lock Gray, however, has missed the last six weeks of club rugby with injury, slotting straight into a starting role and managing 56 minutes.
GREGOR TOWNSEND: "I didn't see [the offload] but Gavin Vaughan, our analyst, said 'oh, I think that's a cat flap offload out the back there!'
"He did really well. Dave got a lot of carries in the first half, out lineout was very accurate – I think we won 100% of the ball. Our first try came off a lineout so we know how important it is to win the ball and play off it to release our backs.
"That was Jonny's first game for five or six weeks. In a test match, you have to be involved a lot. Jonny got a lot of carries, mauls to defend, tackles to make. That just shows his ability to step up.
"We'll see how he is next week [vs Ireland at Murrayfield], but I'm sure he'll be much better for that game time today."
RORY DARGE: Dave Cherry and Jonny Gray were two guys who had been out for a while and came back. I thought the whole pack fronted up very well and took a bit of responsibility on their shoulders.
"But like I said, even within that bit we did well, there's still things we can do better."
- Potential injury concerns for Duhan van der Merwe
Scotland's leading try scorer required treatment on the pitch for ankle discomfort during the second half. While he didn't trouble the scoresheet today, the 29-year-old Edinburgh winger was impressive when called upon, darting down the sideline to tee up the first of Jones' three tries.
GREGOR TOWNSEND: "He's fine. I was winding him up – I think it was because his ankle strapping was too tight. I said 'tell us next time rather than you worry that you might be injured', but he'll be fine.
"Duhan trained fully during the week and even after that strapping, I think he got some touches of the ball where he shows that he was fine."
- Townsend & Darge look ahead to Ireland
The Scots are back at Murrayfield next Sunday, hosting holders Ireland in one of the most highly-anticipated fixtures of the Men's Six Nations. Townsend and Darge both addressed the importance of raising the side's game for a much tougher test in the world number twos.
GREGOR TOWNSEND: "We've got to improve how we played today, but that would've been the case anyway. It's the first game, and an eight-day turnaround gives us time to recover physically and look at what we need to build on – the positives, but also things we need to fix.
"We'll obviously be aware of what Ireland are going to bring. Italy will be a serious opposition for every team in the championship, they were for us today. I believe we'll have to be better than we were today to win."
RORY DARGE: "I'd say there was a set of little breakdowns that got away from us in moments. Discipline is a buzzword for teams at the moment, and obviously we've not watched the game back yet, but they got their first [12] points through kicking penalties.
"Obviously in the scrum, they got a bit of joy too. But I think overall the standard was really good and we performed well. But there'll be bits within it that we can view and get better at."
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