It is probably just as well that the conventions of gladiatorial combat no longer apply in these parts, for in another age the lions would surely have been scoffing the Scots last night after this desperately limp display by Andy Robinson's side.

Scotland misfired all over the pitch in their final RBS 6 Nations match, fell apart on the touchlines and gave the lie to all those chin-stroking predictions that they would be determined to redeem themselves and avoid the wooden spoon. Frankly, they looked almost desperate to get their hands on the thing.

Far from adding layers to the promising game they played in the early rounds of the championship, Scotland instead stripped them away and were horribly exposed at the end. They offered nothing in attack, coughed up soft possession and silly penalties, and copped a couple of yellow cards into the bargain. Their card count for the Six Nations rose to five; their try count remained stuck on four.

In all of this, the most wretched element was a line-out display that was so far short of Test standard it would have disgraced a village team. Ross Ford, who comes over as a dignified individual, if not an inspiring leader, had the honesty to admit most of the blame could be laid at his door, but it was still staggering that no effort was made to effect running repairs.

On six separate occasions the Scots coughed up the ball on the touchlines; ruinously, three of them came when they had possession inside the Italian 22. It also didn't help that they still tried to play far too much rugby far too deep in their own territory.

Credit has to be given to the Italians for keeping the pressure on – they spent a staggering total of 38 minutes in Scotland's half before the interval – but the Scots' failure to clear their lines was astonishing. The suspicion was that Greig Laidlaw, still a relative newcomer at fly-half, lacked the confidence as a kicker to apply boot to ball when every Scottish fan in the towering Stadio Olimpico was willing him to do so. The few decent kicks that were put in came from Mike Blair and Stuart Hogg.

But there was also a tactical dimension to the pattern. Scotland spread the ball wide whenever they could in the early stages, but there was something almost pitifully unenthusiastic about the way they did it. Italy got in their faces, forcing a succession of errors from Robinson's players. Even a modestly better side would have been out of sight on the scoreboard by half ime, and Scotland's only stroke of luck was that they weren't up against one.

Italy's main problem over the past 10 years has been their lack of a decent fly-half. Scotland should thank heaven they still don't have one, for Kris Burton looks about as convincing a candidate for No 10 as Ed Miliband does at the moment. Ford suggested that Scotland kept their line intact before the break because they put up a heroic defensive display, but the more powerful impression was that it came down to an abject performance by the hosts' flaky playmaker.

At the finish there was a layer of perverse irony (do Scotland experience any other kind these days?) in the fact Burton kicked the 77th-minute drop goal that all but guaranteed Italy's win. There was another dollop of perversity in the choice of Martin Castrogiovanni, the hirsute Italian prop, as man of the match. During his recent lay-off the famous Castrogiovanni locks seem to have grown a little but, like some anti-Samson, he also looked to have lost a touch of power.

Certainly, he never troubled Jon Welsh, the former Glasgow electrician who won his first cap when Allan Jacobsen injured an ankle in the warm-up. Welsh is a hugely likeable bloke who has never hidden his passion for playing for Scotland. It was heart-warming to see him on the pitch, the only downside being that so few of his colleagues gave the impression they were delighted to be there too.

Astonishingly, Scotland had parity at 3-3 at the interval despite spending so long pinned in their own half. Italy's points had come from a Mirco Bergamasco penalty – presented, all too obviously, by a daft offside by Jim Hamilton – after 10 minutes. The Racing Metro winger had two other first-half chances, slashing both wide. Three minutes before the break, Scotland got on the scoreboard when Welsh won a penalty at a scrum near halfway and Laidlaw hammered the ball over.

Time for Scotland to take stock, thank their guardian angels and come up with a plan for the second half? Eh, no. Time instead for Nick De Luca to try to kick the ball from Italy scrum-half Edoardo Gori's hands at a ruck and get himself sent to the sin-bin and ensure his side would start the second period with 14 men.

And it mattered. Barely two minutes after the restart, Italy churned possession with all the menace that was absent from Scotland's game, and combined to get the ball to winger Giovanbattista Venditti, racing in from the left touchline and into a gap where De Luca might have been. A moment later he was over the line for the game's only try.

Italy had umpteen chances to add a second, aided as they were by Hamilton heading to the sin-bin in the 55th minute, but Scotland kept them out. Laidlaw added a second penalty in the 59th minute and a glimmer of hope opened up when Alessandro Zanni also got a card for ball-killing. Again, though, Scotland's failure to go in for the kill against wounded quarry led to a feeling that they hadn't even smelt any blood. By the time Zanni returned there had been no further movement on the scoreboard.

Burton brought it back to life with his dropped goal. The Scots traipsed back to their team hotel. Frankly, the lions deserved more.