Scotland gifts Italy a Wooden Spoon – Six Nations
Italy got thrashed by Scotland, the underdogs of this year’s Six Nations. Scotland not only gave Italy a 21-8 beating, but a Wooden Spoon too. Though, it is not the first time Italy has been awarded with the Wooden Spoon. It was their ninth Wooden Spoon
since they joined Five Nations in 1999.
Last time Scotland visited Murrayfield was in November 2009 and this time when they showed, Andy Robinson’s boys scored two tries in the 2nd half to claim the victory with a decent lead, leaving Italy at the bottom of the table.
Italy dominated the first half with 8-6, due to a superb try by Andrea Messai in tenth minute and a penalty by Mirco Bergamasco in 30thminute. It seemed as if Italy is going to grab a back to back victory for the second time in their Six Nations history.
But Scotland came back with a heavy reply of 15 points in second half to steal away any kind of hopes from the Italian side.
Italian side had walked in with confidence, as they had already beaten France in the previous match, the biggest upset of the Six Nations this year. Mirco Bergamasco added three points from his boot, while Andrea Messai added five points for Italy with
a try.
Scotland had scored two penalties in the first half, both by Chris Paterson in the starting phase of the match. Scottish side struggled in the first half, but the after interval the takeover was visible. Tries by Nick de Luca and Nikki Walker in 46th and
54th minute added ten points to the scorecard, whereas a conversion to Walker’s try by Paterson added two more points. Paterson was successful in adding one more penalty in 67th minute and confirmed the victory.
Scotland saved itself from getting the Wooden Spoon after winning the only game of this season. Scotland played five matches and won the last one, ending up second last on the table with two points and negative 27 point difference.
Meanwhile, the Italian side, which had beaten France in their previous match, was expected to win this final fixture too. Italian squad stands at the bottom of the Six Nations table with two points and negative 68 point difference, after winning one out
of five championship matches. The best player for Italy in Six Nations was Mirco Bergamasco, who scored 40 points and two conversions.
Scotland didn’t have an impressive Six Nations, but came up with a few strategies which shocked teams like France and England at pressure points. Chris Paterson was revealed as the dangerous player from Scottish squad. He scored 31 points in this year’s
Six Nations.
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