Consistency and confidence the blunted weapons of Italrugby

The secret ingredient, which is not so secret after all, of this Italy - which returned to victory at home in the Six Nations for the first time since 2013 - was confidence. Confidence in their own possibilities and capabilities. The Azzurri, as coach Gonzalo Quesada said so well, 'never gave up and had good game management'.

After a good 20 minutes in the first half of almost absolute domination by Scotland, Italy maintained their concentration and managed to get back on track, taking the lead, stretching and then managing the result for the final 31 to 29. "There was a bit of frustration at the beginning but today we stayed focused, we all remained lucid all the time. We believed until the end and we knew we could be competitive," said captain Michele Lamaro, and Ange Capuozzo confirmed: "We never thought we would lose. We always believed in it'. It should be emphasised, as Quesada himself did, that this team showed 'consistency' and finally managed to grow, to build.

After a narrow defeat to the English and a historic draw away from home with the Blues - which, had it not been for a clamorous goalpost as time expired, would have been a different story - came a well-deserved victory against one of the most in-form teams of the Six Nations and perhaps one of the best Scottish national teams of recent years, who arrived in Rome "still with a chance to win the tournament," recalled Quesada. "We have so much potential. We still have room for improvement, there are many things we can do better. I don't think I have transformed the team. This is just the beginning and I am proud to have spent so many weeks convincing the players of what I thought was the best path for them,' the coach noted, saying he was 'happy for the players and staff: they work so hard and they deserve this victory'. It was a 'special victory, even more important because it was achieved in front of the home crowd, with the Stadio Olimpico full,' Capuozzo added, referring to the fact that the match was sold out, with 69,689 spectators, including around 15,000 Scots.

Now the head is already on the next round on Saturday 16 March, the last of the Six Nations 2024, when the Azzurri will travel to Cardiff to take on Wales. "We want to finish this Six Nations in the best possible way, it will be a crucial game. It will be a battle because we don't want to finish last," Lamaro said. "The biggest challenge will be next week but we see a growth game after game," Quesada concluded.