Scotland scrum-half Ali Price took centre stage with an unbelievable all-round performance in his side’s 33-22 win against Italy in Rome that earned him the Guinness Six Nations Player of the Match award.
Price’s break in the second half started the move that led to Stuart Hogg’s 61st minute try as the Glasgow Warriors star showed precisely why he impressed so many people on the 2021 British & Irish Lions Tour of South Africa.
That followed a brilliant first half in which his support play was crucial in setting up Sam Johnson’s opener, before an intercept in the Scottish 22 three minutes later led to a Chris Harris score, arguably a 14-point swing with Italy looking like they would get over.
On his 50th appearance, the 28-year-old beat seven defenders, made three clean breaks and kept the Italy defence on their toes with the ball in hand throughout the contest.
But he was also consistent in defence and an essential source of leadership on the pitch against an impressive Italy side who put on their best performance of the Championship so far.
“Job done. We came here to get five points, and that is what we have managed to achieve, so yeah, in that aspect very good,” said Price.
“There’s still so much room for growth, though, we got made to work very hard for the scores we got.
“A lot of those scores came off turnover ball, I think there is still a bit to look at in terms of our attack and creating opportunities for ourselves, but we dug it out.
“They came back in the end in the last ten minutes, they didn’t die off, and they stuck in.
“We had scoreboard pressure on them, we were a couple of scores clear, and we talk about trying to be relentless if we get into that situation.
“Not giving teams a sniff, trying to put our foot on their throat and keep going for the full 80, I think that is the challenge, isn’t it, the full 80.
“It’s a dream come true for me to play with these boys, and to run out for the 50th time is a massive achievement. I’m proud, it’s a special day, and I’m glad we got the win.”
