SCOTLAND coach Gregor Townsend admits his side still have a long way to go to unlock their full potential – but the players would take as much from yesterday’s come-from-behind Six Nations win against Italy as they did from the historic Calcutta Cup triumph against England.

The 44-year-old didn’t demur from the suggestion that his side had "got away with it" by squeaking a 29-27 bonus point win in Rome courtesy of a last-gasp Greig Laidlaw penalty in a match where they twice trailed by 12 points.

It means the Scots have won three matches in this championship for a second successive year, and will finish third, but Townsend has bigger ambitions than that some 18 months out from the World Cup and he believes the experience of fending off a rampant Italian side at the Stadio Olimpico will stand his players in good stead.

“There’s two ways to look at it,” said Townsend, who had cut an angry figure at half time, replacing his entire front row with the Scots fortunate only to be trailing 17-12. “We can analyse the game, in which we disappointed in parts, particularly the first half. Or we can stress that we put an improved performance in the second half and found a resilience and a togetherness to find that win. It is great to pick up an away win, to finish with three wins. Today’s game will be as valuable as the win against England in terms of experience this group has and being able to beat teams when you are not playing your best.

"Italy can feel that it was one they were in control of for most of the game. Our fitness was a big factor, and we went ahead not with just the last kick of the game, but two or three minutes before that.

“To get three wins in such a competitive championship, three wins, we do realise our history, we have not won three times that often, that is OK. But we want to do better than that. We want to build on what we have done this year. We still have a long way to go to reach our potential.”