NO MATTER the narrow margin, no matter the problems that had to be overcome before the win was in the bag, this was at least tangible proof of Scotland’s progress. The task now - and it will be a far from simple one - is to back up that progress by beating Italy in the return match at Murrayfield on Saturday.

The progress remains modest, of course: without a host of world-beaters in the squad it could never be anything else. And indeed, some aspects of this performance were less impressive than the loss to Ireland a week later.

But with those caveats in mind, it was still significant that, after six defeats in a row, Scotland should rediscover the art of weathering the storm and ending up victorious. Teams can forget how to win, and sometimes need a close defeat to jog their memories. In retrospect, that 28-22 reverse in Dublin can be seen as a staging post to this result.

It was surely no accident that in the end the win was secured thanks in large part to two players who are part of a Glasgow Warriors team that has mastered the art of pulling games out of the fire. Peter Horne injected new hope into the back line after coming off the bench by quickly making a couple of breaks through the Italian defence, and then, with the assistance of Edinburgh’s Matt Scott, his team-mate Henry Pyrgos crossed for the only try of the match. A conversion from Duncan Weir, who also kicked three first-half penalties, wrapped up the win.

Italy came desperately close to scoring in both halves, having been held up just short of the line after heavy pressure in the second, and seen a Tommy Allan kick for his outside backs to chase into Scotland’s in-goal area drift out of play. The home team certainly had the platform and possession from which to create scores, as they were well on top in most scrums, so their failure to do so will be as galling for them as it was to the credit of the visitors’ defence.

The fact that Scotland came off second best at the set piece, however, will be among the biggest problems to be addressed this week. Bearing in mind that this was Italy’s first outing of the Rugby World Cup warm-up campaign, and that they had chosen a largely second-string side, they were impressively well drilled when it came to exploiting their opponents’ weaknesses.

On paper Scotland’s starting 15 was stronger than it had been a week earlier, although Grant Gilchrist, the captain, had to withdraw because of illness on the day of the game. The fact that three of that 15 were making their debut, and another two won their first caps off the bench, also inevitably made for a few teething problems.

John Hardie, the No 7, was the most impressive of the five, putting in a power of defensive work, particularly early on when the Italians consistently tried to steamroll their way up the middle of the park. Vern Cotter had probably seen enough of him previously to believe he should be in the World Cup squad of 31, and if so, this outing can only have underlined that conviction.

Stuart McInally at last made his debut at hooker and will also be in that squad, as Cotter will take three No 2s - Ross Ford and Fraser Brown being the others. Kevin Bryce, added to the squad during the week and brought on to the bench when Gilchrist pulled out, was the only unused replacement.

WP Nel won his first cap at tighthead prop and could also make the cut. For Rory Hughes, who started, and Damien Hoyland, a late replacement, this could be a World Cup too soon, although their involvement in the build-up to this one should help accelerate their development.

While Pyrgos supplied the coup de grace, it was Weir’s accuracy with the boot that kept Scotland within striking distance up to that point. His first two penalties gave them a 6-0 lead after a dozen minutes, Gonzalo Garcia reduced the deficit with a long-range effort after a first attempt had come back off the upright, and then Weir added a third of the night. By half-time two more penalties from Tommy Allan had made it 9-9 - a scoreline that was an unfair reflection on Italy’s domination.

Scotland began the second half well, but after a scoreless third quarter another Allan penalty made it 12-9. Perhaps with a game or two under their belts the Italians would have been able to close out the game after taking the lead for the first time, but instead the Scots’ superior fitness told in the end. They may not enjoy the same advantage this weekend, a probability that makes working on their deficiencies up front all the more urgent.