Player ratings

Sean Maitland (Glasgow Warriors): Might have made more of his early chance but made up for it with lively breaks plus the off-load that put Scott in for his try to give Scotland a cushion 7

Sean Lamont (Glasgow Warriors): A tireless worker, always a willing carrier and kept tackling in midfield to make sure there were no lapses out wide. Took his try superbly8

Matt Scott (Edinburgh): With a slice of luck might have had a hat-trick but did all that he could to make the attack as dangerous as it was while locking the defence tight8

Tim Visser (Edinburgh): You cannot argue with five tries in seven games, which is what he is there to do but apart from that opening try the ball never really flowed his way6

Ruaridh Jackson (Glasgow Warriors): Bounced back from his Twickenham display with an assured running and distributing performance, including creating the first try. Can kick better7

Greig Laidlaw (Edinburgh): Starting to show that he is settling back into the scrum-half role and with better ball to deal with, gave the backs plenty of room to use it. Kicked well8

Ryan Grant (Glasgow Warriors): Did brilliantly to almost send Scott in for a try and generally scrummaged powerfully while putting in a good shift in the loose despite being injured6

Ross Ford (Edinburgh): Carried and scrummaged effectively but his line-out throwing is still a worry. Can expect his share of the credit for taking the fight to the Italians6

Euan Murray (Worcester Warriors): Was never in trouble in the tight and tackled gamely around the side of the ruck to prevent Italy from making easy yards round the fringes6

Richie Gray (Sale): A much tighter game than at Twickenham, getting stuck into rucks and mauls and looking a better player for it, with a brilliant chase-back and tackle at the end a highlight7

Jim Hamilton (Gloucester): A couple of big hits showed what he can offer to the side when he is in the mood, but he is still not convincing at international level6

Robert Harley (Glasgow Warriors): Maybe a little overawed at his first start with an early missed tackle on Parisse, but settled and made a real nuisance of himself at the breakdown8

Kelly Brown (Saracens): Another solid performance from the captain who got stuck into the task with gusto and led the fight that rocked Italy backwards7

Johnnie Beattie (Montpellier): One of his better games for Scotland, a number of big carries but, more importantly, he looked interested in doing his chores and the donkey work7

Replacements: Two props acquitted themselves really well, with Moray Low holding the wrong side of the scrum solid and Geoff Cross making one memorable crash through the opposition

Italy

Andrea Masi (Wasps): Not his day; had little to do in defence and the ball never really came his way in attack. Will not have fond memories of Murrayfield 5

Giovanbattista Venditti (Zebre): Another to have a quiet game as Italy struggled to get the ball into the wide spaces, such was the ferocity of the Scots defence in midfield5

Tommaso Benvenuti (Benetton Treviso): Had a couple of runs late in the game but was never able to break free of the stifling attentions of the Scotland tacklers5

Gonzalo Canale (La Rochelle): Thought he was being sent in for a try on his recall only to see Hogg intercept and race in a score at the other end. Another to have a quiet game5

Luke McLean (Benetton Treviso): Did well to make the break that nearly created a score for Canale, but had a hard time handling the pace of Maitland on the Scotland wing5

Luciano Orquera (Zebre): Has always had a reputation of being flaky and lived up to it with a poor game as he failed to make the power of the Italian forwards pay off4

Tobias Botes (Benetton Treviso): Lively in trying to break himself into the open but his service is a bit too slow to make the best of the possession being earned6

Andrea Lo Cicero (Racing Metro): Only had one dominant scrum in a generally disappointing showing for his 100th cap and was replaced for the final quarter5

Leonardo Ghiraldini (Benetton Treviso): Threw accurately as Italy won their own line-out but got nothing out of the scrum battle and was well shackled in the loose5

Martin Castrogiovanni (Leicester): Put himself about with enthusiasm and made some impressive tackles out in the wide open spaces, but did nothing much with the ball6

Quintin Geldenhuys (Zebre): A quiet game. Won his line out, shoved in the tight but hardly showed up in the open5

Francesco Minto (Benetton Treviso): Like the rest of the Italian pack, got through a pile of work but could not find a way to make it produce a real threat against resolute defence5

Alessandro Zanni (Benetton Treviso): The pick of the Italian back row, justly rewarded with a try after a tireless performance for his side7

Simone Favaro (Benetton Treviso): Never managed to get his barnstorming runs going and may struggle to keep his place in a couple of weeks against Wales5

Sergio Parisse (Stade Francais): Captain Fantastic was below his best, rarely able to get free on his trademark runs and unable to find ways to win the ball fast enough for his side6

Replacements: Half backs Edoardo Gori and Kristopher Burton certainly helped raise the pace of the Italian game, but to no avail

Stuart McAllister