MUCH like the Michael Caine heist movie, Scotland’s Italian job ended in the ultimate Six Nations cliffhanger. Because for so much of this gladiatorial collision in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, it seemed as though Gregor Townsend’s side were fated to be the victims of an Italian renaissance. They trailed 24-12 to a rampant Azzurri just five minutes into the second period, then found themselves pegged back again at 27-26 with 90 seconds to play when Tommaso Allan steered over the nerveless penalty which completed a personal haul of 22 points against the country of his father’s birth.

But, having first hauled themselves back into contention through tries by Sean Maitland and Stuart Hogg, Scotland got themselves out of jail again. Their mauling game drew one last penalty, even if Greg Laidlaw’s kick was hardly a gimme, some 35 metres out, not far from the touchline. But his aim was true and one Italian knock-on later, Scotland had their third win of this year’s Six Nations, equalling last year’s tally. It was also their first triumph on the road since prevailing here in February 2016.

While it wasn't exactly an act of grand larceny, the outcome was tough on an Italian side who joined France as being the unfortunate owners of the longest losing run in championship history, fully 17 matches. Whether Scotland had made it difficult for themselves, Italy had played above themselves or a bit of both, even the simple act of kicking the ball into touch after the clock had turned red seemed to take an eternity in the Eternal City, Ali Price’s sclaffed clearance just about crossed the touchline to mean Sergio Parisse, Italy's world-class back row, to chalk up his 100th international defeat in the most agonising circumstances.

Some 5000 Scots took their seat amongst the 55,000 throng, many of them hotfooting it from the Piazza del Popolo to raise funds for Doddie Weir’s foundation in the fight against Motor Neurone Disease. Weir’s last campaign in a Scotland jersey co-incided with Italy’s first, meaning both he and Townsend were veterans of the humbling 34-20 defeat in the Italians’ maiden Six Nations encounter.

Scotland and their fans got a warm welcome, and why not? Of Italy’s 19 all-time wins against Tier 1 nations, no fewer than eight had come against them.

Allan has as much Scottish blood in his veins as certain members of the Scotland team and he showed his mother country what they are missing out. The 24-year-old had already swept over one penalty kick by the time he found the ball in his hands in the Scottish 22, dummied and found a channel to neatly bisect Huw Jones and Willem Nel before touching down. Not only did he sweep over the conversion himself, he then had a hand in the second Italian try of the day. His cute little grubber kick for Matteo Minozzi was perfect for the Italians' quicksilver wee full-back to scamper on to ahead of the back-tracking Hamish Watson to touch down.

Conceding 17 points in the first 20 minutes wasn’t in the Scottish script but they were at least on the board by then. In pretty much their only foray up the field, centre Nick Grigg smashed off a few bodies on a driving run, before Finn Russell was held just short of the line. Watson spotted hooker Fraser Brown stationed out wide and all he had to was tame the bouncing ball and plunge over the line.

While the Scottish line-out wasn’t functioning smoothly, a second try from a rolling maul offered some hope of salvation, captain John Barclay controlling the situation well. But this was an intense half from the Italians and it took a desperate stand on the stroke of half time for the Scots to leave the field just five points in arrears.

Townsend took matters into his own hands at half time, changing his entire front row, but at first the pattern of this match was the same. First Sebastian Negri slithered out of a Jonny Gray tackle to touch down, only only for the try to be correctly ruled out for a knock on earlier in the move. Rather than curse their luck, the Italians simply went for the jugular again – Jake Polledri, another hulking back-row, eluded Ryan Wilson and Allan was on his shoulder for his second try.

The Scots were on the ropes, but further changes from the bench brought fresh impetus. With Russell off with a head knock, Laidlaw shuffled to fly-half again alongside Ali Price and the two men combined to great effect for the try which gave Scotland a route back into the match. Price’s quick delivery, and Laidlaw’s long missed pass gave Sean Maitland the kind of run to the line which he never looked likely to pass up.

With Italian legs tiring, another Laidlaw pass helped Stuart Hogg to register his first try of the tournament, continuing a record which means he has touched down at least once in all of his seven competitions. The 71st minute conversion gave Scotland ascendancy back for the first time since the 14th minute but the Italians still had time to claim the lead again before Laidlaw stole it back for good.

Italy 27 Scotland 29

Scorers, Italy – Tries: Allan (2), Minozzi. Cons: Allan (3). Pens: Allan (2)

Scorers, Scotland – Tries: Brown, Barclay, Maitland, Hogg. Cons: Laidlaw (3). Pens: Laidlaw

Italy: M Minozzi; T Benvenuti (rep J Hayward, 59), G Bisegni, T Castello (rep C Canna, 73), M Bellini; T Allan, M Violi (rep G Palazzani, 66); A Lovotti (rep N Quaglio, 58), L Ghiraldini (rep O Fabiani, 76), S Ferrari (rep T Pasquali, 60), A Zanni (rep A Steyn 52), D Budd, S Negri, J Polledri (rep G Licata, 66), S Parisse (captain).

Scotland: S Hogg; T Seymour, H Jones (rep P Horne, 52), N Grigg, S Maitland; F Russell (rep A Price, 54), G Laidlaw; G Reid (rep J Bhatti, 40), F Brown (rep S McInally, 40), WP Nel (rep Z Fagerson, 40), T Swinson (rep R Gray, 52), J Gray, J Barclay (captain), H Watson, R Wilson (rep D Denton, 66).