Scotland 31-19 Italy: Three things we learned

Dependable Darge to the fore again

Huw Jones grabbed the headlines with his hat-trick of tries, but Rory Darge was arguably the best player on the pitch.

The Glasgow flanker is perhaps a victim of his own consistence excellence. It's rare he ever delivers anything less than an eight out of 10 performance and as a result, we often take for granted just how good he is.

His display against Italy had everything – the opening try, crucial turnovers, excellent carries and some superb defence in key moments.

As always seems to be the case, the competition for spots in the Lions back-row is probably the fiercest of any area in the team, but Darge should be in the conversation.

Cherry justifies Townsend's faith

The selection of Dave Cherry to start at hooker ahead of Ewan Ashman - his first Test appearance since the 2023 Rugby World Cup - raised more than a few eyebrows, but the Edinburgh man more than justified Gregor Townsend's faith with an excellent performance.

It was Cherry as much as any player who set the tone for Scotland's fast start, carrying hard and often into the heart of the Italian defence.

His set-piece work was cited by Townsend as the big reason for giving Cherry the nod and the lineout and scrum functioned well to give Scotland an attacking platform.

The entire front row put in a colossal shift, with Pierre Schoeman and the outstanding Zander Fagerson getting through a mountain of work with and without the ball.

There's a case to suggest Ashman's more dynamic ball-carrying will be favoured against Ireland, but Scotland will need that set-piece foundation to stand a chance, and that could tip the scales in Cherry's favour to keep hold of the number two jersey.

McDowall or Jordan – who starts at 12?

There was a lot of pressure on Stafford McDowall's shoulders against Italy, filling the huge void left by the injured captain Sione Tuipulotu.

McDowall did fine. He defended well against the talented duo of Juan Ignacio Brex and Tommaso Menoncello, though he did not offer as much going forward as he might have done.

The backline looked sharper in attack when Tom Jordan came off the bench and it poses a fascinating dilemma for Townsend ahead of the Ireland game.

Did Jordan's display prove he should be in from the start? Or confirm that he brings exactly the kind of impetus from the bench that will be required against the defending champions?

With Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose looking strong against England, it's a selection the head coach simply has to get right.