Five takeaways from Scotland 31 vs 19 Italy

The Fin Russell of old showed up

This was not the best game Fin Russell has played in a Scotland shirt. At times, he was too aggressive with his kicks which tended to put an end to attacks. He also threw an interception to Ignacio Brex who ran fifty metres for Italy's only try of the day. Despite these mistakes, Russell still put in a solid performance and was able to guide Scotland to a convincing victory.

Italy's attack was appalling

In the first half, Scotland were the stronger team and dominated possession but Italy were able to stay in the game through the impressive kicking of Tomasso Allen. Italy put themselves right back into the game with the Brex try from a Fin Russell interception. Other than that, Italy were unable to be clinical enough when it mattered. Even when they managed to break into the Scottish 22, Italy lacked the clinical edge that is necessary to score multiple tries in a game. There was promise but ultimately a lack of cutting edge and far too many handling errors. They have a good opportunity to fix that on Saturday in Rome against Wales in what looks to be a monumental clash.

Menoncello and Brex still rival any centre partnership in the world

The highlight of the game for Italy was the Brex "pick 5" as I'll term it. Other than that, he was defensively superb and made some impressive line breaks. His partner in crime, Menoncello was also outstanding. From winning turnovers to making dominant tackles, he was a key player in Italy's defence. Between the two of them, Italy have a solid foundation from which to build.

Scotland need to be more ruthless

Scotland dominated for a majority of the game but couldn't quite shake off the Italians until the final few minutes of the game. For all their dominance, Italy were able to stay in the game through some poor Scottish discipline which lead to several successful Tomasso Allen penalty kicks. Against the likes of Ireland and France, Scotland cannot afford to be so wasteful.

Italy are now at a level where these performance aren't good enough

Last year was Italy's best ever Six Nations performance in the SIx Nations and it was not a fluke. This Italian side is capable of beating every team in this competition even if they have to play away from home. They were able to stay in the game better than in previous years but will be disappointed by a lack of attacking prowess. The number of handling errors were unacceptable for this level if Italy want to have consistent success. The next game is huge and Italy will go into it as as heavy favourites as they have ever been for a game in this competition.