Gregor Townsend now under intense scrutiny after Scotland drown in Six Nations opener

A story linking the national coach with an unspecified role at Newcastle Red Bulls had overshadowed this match. Townsend said he had signed no contract with the club and accused the “English paper” of stirring up trouble ahead of next weekend’s Calcutta Cup.

But Townsend’s ongoing consultancy work with Red Bull continues to sit uncomfortably with his Scotland duties and garners unwanted attention. The scrutiny will only increase this week as England come to Edinburgh as serious title challengers.

On the evidence of Rome, it is a game Scotland will go into as serious underdogs. They were chasing their tails all afternoon amid a biblical downpour.

There was thunder and lightning around the stadium and puddles on the pitch but Italy mastered the treacherous conditions better than the visitors and deserved their 18-15 victory, their second consecutive home win over the Scots after a long barren spell in the fixture.

Townsend had stressed how important the set-piece would be if the rain came and Scotland were found wanting on that front. Ewan Ashman had a difficult day with his throwing-in and the Scotland scrum was also poor.

It was difficult to play much rugby but the Scotland backline failed to spark. Tom Jordan, Kyle Steyn and Jamie Dobie had come in for Blair Kinghorn, Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe but the new-look back three posed little threat.

Italy set tone with two early tries

Scotland were rocked by two early tries and although they were to score two of their own, through Jack Dempsey and replacement George Horne, they were always playing catch-up. They never got their noses in front against an Italian side energised by the noisy crowd at a sold-out Stadio Olimpico. The downpour failed to dampen their enthusiasm and passions ran high as Nessun Dorma blasted out at full-time.

For Townsend, it was more misery. After an autumn campaign which saw Scotland chuck away a 21-0 lead to lose to Argentina, this was supposed to be a redemption story. The coach and his players had spoken all week about “honest conversations” and “taking their learnings” and using the Italy game to show their true selves.

It never happened. Townsend had his head in his hands at one point late in the game as Scotland knocked on. There were too many such mistakes. Grant Gilchrist gave away penalties early on, Ashman never got to grips with the lineout and his replacement, George Turner, was yellow-carded.

Horne’s try in the 66th minute gave them hope and there was a huge effort in the final minute which saw Scotland edge up the park, from halfway to deep into the Italian 22. They were through 29 phases before being held up and referee Ben O'Keeffe called time. Cue bedlam in the stands and among the Italian players. Theirs was a passionate performance, with flanker Michele Lamaro leading the charge.

Scotland conceded two tries in six minutes early in the game and were playing catch-up thereafter.

Gilchrist had been punished for holding on and Italy made the most of it, with Juan Ignacio Brex threading through a lovely kick in behind, between Dobie and Huw Jones, for Louis Lynagh to run on to. The bouncing ball sat up nicely for the winger who slid in to score. There were only seven and half minutes on the clock and the second try soon followed.

Lynagh came out on top in a high-ball duel with Dobie and it was spread wide, with Lamaro finding Tommaso Menoncello who steamed down the left wing to score. Paolo Garbisi, who had missed with his first conversion attempt, nailed this one to make it 12-0.

The stadium PA played a fairground version of “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands,” and the Italy supporters in the sold-out Stadio duly did so.

It was not as if Scotland hadn’t had opportunities. Twice Finn Russell had kicked penalties to promising positions, and twice Scotland had lost the lineout from five metres out. It wasn’t turning out to be a good afternoon for Ashman.

Russell had a third go and this time Scotland managed to win their own lineout. The conditions were worsening and they relied on their pack to try to find a breakthrough. They huffed and puffed through phase after phase and eventually Dempsey showed his class. Matt Fagerson found him with a smart flicked pass and the No 8 displayed great footwork to step inside Giacomo Nicotera to score. Russell’s conversion brought Scotland back to within five points with 15 minutes of the half remaining.

The rain was now torrential and Paolo Garbisi tried to extend Italy’s lead with a drop goal but missed from right in front of the posts. Scotland’s respite was brief. They had been guilty of crossing and play went back for a penalty which Paolo Garbisi slotted over to make it 15-7. The Toulon stand-off had another stab at a drop goal just before the break but dragged it wide.

Replacement hooker doesn’t last long

A searing break from Menoncello early in the second half had the crowd roaring but he was hauled down on the Scotland 22 and the visitors managed to move the ball back up the field. Russell kicked a penalty from around 25 metres to cut Italy’s lead to five after the home side were offside but Paolo Garbisi responded with one of his own to make it 18-10.

The Italian penalty had been awarded for a high tackle by Ashman on Manuel Zuliani. It was checked by the TMO but not deemed dangerous enough to warrant a card for the Scotland hooker. He departed in any case, being replaced by Turner.

The replacement hooker didn’t last long. After leading with his shoulder going into a ruck, Turner caught Zuliani and was sent to the sin-bin. A bunker review decided a yellow card would suffice.

It meant a return for Ashman, with the starting hooker coming back on for Rory Darge. Scotland survived the ten minutes with 14 men and scored their second try soon after. Horne had been one of four substitutes introduced by Townsend in the 64th minute and the little scrum-half had an almost immediate impact.

With Turner back in the fray Scotland scored their second try. It came from a lineout, with Horne breaking off the maul and darting round the corner to score. Russell was off target with the conversion attempt but it meant Italy’s lead had been cut to 18-15 with 14 minutes remaining.

The home side showed no signs of faltering and they pushed Scotland back up the field for much of the remaining time. The Scots did produce a late surge, going through the phases and they inched their towards the Italian line but they couldn’t quite get there.

Italy 18-15 teams and scorers

Scorers: Italy - Tries: Lynagh, Menoncello. Con: Garbisi. Pens: Garbisi 2. Scotland - Tries: Dempsey, Horne. Con: Russell. Pen: Russell.

Yellow card: G Turner (Sco, 55min).

Italy: L Marin (L Pani 73); L Lynagh, J I Brex, T Menoncello, M Ioane; P Garbisi, A Fusco (A Garbisi 61); D Fischetti (M Spagnolo 59), G Nicotera (T Di Bartolomeo 59), S Ferrari (M Hasa 59); N Cannone, A Zambonin (F Ruzza 69); M Lamaro (R Favretto 69), M Zuliani (R Favretto 55-69), L Cannone. Replacement: G Da Re .

Scotland: T Jordan; K Steyn, H Jones, S Tuipulotu, J Dobie (D Graham 50); F Russell, B White (G Horne 64); P Schoeman (N McBeth 29-37), E Ashman (G Turner 49-55; 65), Z Fagerson (E Millar Mills 64), S Cummings, G Gilchrist (G Brown 49), M Fagerson (M Williamson 64), R Darge (Ashman 60), J Dempsey. Replacement: A Hastings.

Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (NZ)

Attendance: 68,245.

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