Scotland A tonight learned a lesson in the perils of complacency that their
first-team colleagues will do well to heed.

They did enough, though, for victory over a spirited Italian second string at Old Anniesland. Graham Hogg's side boasted nine full caps in their starting line-up against the Italian part-timers.

But a mixture of over-elaboration, weak tackling and a dismal kicking display
from fly-half Gordon Ross meant the Scots struggled to put paid to the Azzurri.

Scotland got off to a lively start before a sparse crowd, with fly-half Ross directing traffic well and centres Alan Bulloch and James McLaren proving a handful.

But it was Italy who opened the scoring when Treviso full-back Corrado Pilat
put them 3-0 up with an 11th-minute penalty off the post.

Edinburgh Reivers star Ross twice had the chance to level matters but he put
two relatively easy penalty attempts wide after Italy had strayed offside, and the Scots were made to pay almost immediately.

Nicola Mazzucato intercepted Stuart Reid's wayward pass to Shaun Longstaff 40 metres out, and the 12-times capped winger had the pace to bamboozle his way past the home defence for an opportunist 23rd-minute try.

His Treviso team-mate Pilat fired over a superb touchline conversion to make
it 10-0 as Italy appeared to be getting the better of a scrappy and error-strewn first half.

But two minutes before the interval Scotland got the break that finally turned their possession into valuable points.

Ross put a punishing deep kick into the corner, and Glasgow Caledonians hooker
Gavin Scott caught and drove over before emerging from under a pile of bodies with the score. Ross, having a nightmare with the boot, missed the conversion.

But when Pilat caught his country's first-team bug of indiscipline and was
sin-binned for deliberate offside with seconds remaining, Scotland were back in the game at 10-5 and starting the second half against 14 men.

For all his kicking woes, Ross was having a lively game in the loose.On the restart he made a wonderful soccer-style break up the touchline which
Bedford's Marco Rivaro did well to hack clear.

The Italians strayed offside from the resulting scrum and allowed Ross to open the second-half scoring from under the posts.

Another penalty after 51 minutes for the same offence meant the fly-half could edge the Scots in front for the first time 11-10.But the freshly-returned Pilat hammered over another three-pointer four minutes later to put Italy back into a 13-11 lead.

That was the cue for Scotland to wake up, and a Reivers triple act saw
full-back David Officer finish off a wonderful sweeping move by getting on the end of a Graeme Burns pass after a splendid Allan Jacobsen break to make it 16-13. Ross missed the conversion.

After 65 minutes, Jacobsen and Italy flanker Salvatore Garozzo were both
yellow-carded as tempers began to fray.
But Ross finally found his kicking range with a 67th-minute drop goal.

When winger Longstaff and Scott added two late tries, which Ross somehow this
time converted, it put an undeserved gloss on a second Scotland win of this
shadow Six Nations competition.