Italy vs. Scotland: Winners and Losers from 2016 RBS 6 Nations Clash

Scotland's 2016 RBS Six Nations finally got off the mark on Saturday as they defeated Italy 36-20 to book their first win of the tournament following defeats to England and Wales.

John Barclay, John Hardie and Tommy Seymour scored tries to give coach Vern Cotter's men the push they needed in Rome, but it was the 21-point kicking haul of captain Greig Laidlaw that provided the foundation.

Italy are the only team in this year's competition yet to claim a point, and their chances of picking up another Wooden Spoon look only too likely after falling to a third consecutive defeat at Scottish hands.

Read on as we break down the biggest winners and losers to have emerged from the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.

It's typical for a captain to feel defeats more than any of his team-mates after taking on the leadership role, and Scotland No. 9 Laidlaw has had to live with that disappointment too often in his tenure.

So it was satisfying even for neutrals to see the Gloucester scrum-half get his just reward on Saturday, not to mention piling the hurt on Italy himself thanks to a monstrous 21 points scored from the tee.

After the match, Laidlaw said he could see that he and his players were in for a win at the Stadio Olimpico, per the Telegraph's Richard Bath: "I knew before we took to the field that we would win—I could see it in the players’ eyes. The character to defend our line was there for all to see. There were 15 guys digging in, and that pulled us over the line."

It was a big win for Scotland and a major morale-boost for Laidlaw in particular, who will have seen during that display just what strength lies in this squad with a confident victory over the Azzurri.

"Tripping over their own feet" might be considered a suitable phrase to describe some of Italy's handling in Rome on Saturday, despite some passages of coherent carrying from coach Jacques Brunel's hosts.

It speaks volumes of their profligacy with the ball that Italy accounted for 62 percent of possession and attempted 45 more runs than their guests (125-80) and yet finished 16 points behind.

There was some scintillating support play present in the build-up to Leonardo Ghiraldini's try in the 20th minute, but too many conceded turnovers and handling errors ultimately meant their doom.

It doesn't appear to be a problem solely attributable to stamina, either, considering Italy held even more territory and possession in the second half and yet came off second best.

In a match that saw four of its five total tries scored by forwards, Scotland's back-rowers stole the headlines all day, and it was flankers Hardie and Barclay who impressed especially after going over the whitewash.

So rare was that feat, in fact, that OptaJonny confirmed this was the first time in more than 30 years that both Scotland's starting flankers have both got on the scoresheet in a match against Tier One opposition.

Scarlets man Barclay is clearly enjoying his run back in the team after being recalled, and there hasn't been a time when Hardie has looked out of place since the New Zealander earned his first cap last year.

Glasgow No. 8 Ryan Wilson is also deserving of mention after slotting in as a late replacement for David Denton and contributing a tremendous shift on such short notice.

It was perhaps evident elsewhere this weekend, too, but there's still too much time being wasted on things such as scrum resets and the perfection of set-piece layout at the Test level.

Rugby World's Paul Williams even noted that because of the referee's tinkering with the scrum, Italy failed to see the optimum advantage they should have had following Finn Russell's 61st-minute yellow card.

Let's clearly lay out what is and isn't legal at the scrum and swiftly punish any packs that infringe upon those rules—without exception—to create a more streamlined set piece in future.

And speaking of back-row behemoths (slide three), we couldn't let this result slip by without sounding out special praise for Sergio Parisse, who was, as ever, totemic for the hosts throughout Saturday's struggle.

It's said all too often, but the Stade Francais No. 8 continues to bear the almost depressing responsibilities of his national team without so much as a murmur of complaint, and he thrives in that duty.

The Azzurri captain rampaged for 79 carrying metres in Rome—a tally only Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg could best—and beat five defenders from two clean breaks in what was an outstanding performance.

All statistics come courtesy of ESPN Scrum.