Italy 22-33 Scotland: Victory a 'good boost' for Dublin trip, says Gregor Townsend
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Scrum-half Ali Price marked his 50th cap with a strong attacking display
Scotland will "take confidence" from a five-try win in Italy, says head coach Gregor Townsend, despite a ragged finish in Rome.
Ange Capuozzo crossed twice in the last 15 minutes as the hosts hit back to add 12 points from 33-10 down.
A second victory from four outings nudges Scotland up to fourth place, with a trip to Dublin remaining.
"We're delighted with the win, it's been a tough venue for Scottish teams for a number of years," said Townsend.
He told BBC Radio Scotland: "I felt we built the victory in the first half and the players played really well up to around the 50-minute mark.
"After that, we weren't as good. I have to say that's the best I've seen Italy play over the last couple of seasons.
"Maybe we expected them to crack but you have to be accurate and keep the intensity up against all opposition if you want a complete performance. That's a frustration but all credit to Italy, they were the better team in the last quarter of the game.
"It's hard when Italy come at you. I've been there as a player and a coach when we've allowed Italy to get into the game. We didn't do that today. We managed the game really well and executed at times. We just need to do that for 80 minutes."
Scotland survived a whirlwind start from Italy, who are now on a 36-match losing streak in the Six Nations, and took a 19-10 lead into the interval after a Sam Johnson try and a double from Chris Harris.
Darcy Graham and Stuart Hogg touched down after the break but the visitors did not trouble the scoreboard again after the captain's 61st-minute celebration.
Italy had not managed a single second-half point in their three previous heavy defeats in the competition but Capuozzo changed all that after coming off the bench to make his debut. Twice the 22-year-old found a way through, with Scotland guilty of switching off.
"We wanted to come out here and give a true reflection of ourselves," said Hogg. "We did that for large spells, but we had lapses of concentration which Italy scored points from."
Townsend added: "We pride ourselves a lot on how we defend and the effort and physicality allied to the system. There was a lot to like about how we defended in the first half, we were getting turnovers, two-man tackles; we were looking in control.
"We'll take confidence from the win and that will give us a good boost for next week, which will be an even bigger challenge."