Scots fend off Italy thanks to Jones' hat-trick

HUW JONES came to the fore in the absence of fellow centre Sione Tuipulotu as his hat-trick helped Scotland stave off another Italian comeback to open their Guinness Six Nations campaign with a win at Murrayfield.

- By Michael Ryan

Much had been made of the injury to their influential captain in the build-up to the championship, but the Scots looked unaffected as they opened up a 14-0 advantage in the first 10 minutes and led 19-6 at the break through scores from Rory Darge, Jones and Ben White (right).

But Italy, who fought back from 22-10 down to defeat the Scots 31-29 in Rome last March, once again produced a spirited fightback, with the boot of Tommaso Allan and a breakaway try from Juan Ignacio Brex levelling things up at 19-19 heading into the final quarter.