Proud captain Stuart Hogg said he “wasn’t making a mess of that one” after scoring in Scotland’s 17-0 victory over Italy in Rome.
The full-back admitted he received critcism after dropping the ball over the try-line in the defeat to Ireland on the opening weekend of the 2020 Guinness Six Nations.
But Hogg seized his opportunity on this occasion as he ran from inside Scotland’s half, weaving his way through and diving over the line with the ball safely in his hands for his team’s opening try.
“I have had a lot of chat over the past couple of weeks so I wasn’t making a mess of that one, I can assure you,” Hogg said.
“We pride ourselves a lot on our attacking play and our defence. A huge part of the game now is the kicking game and applying pressure to them.
“We created an unstructured defence which is perfect for the likes of myself and the rest of the back-three boys. That’s what we want.
“We want to be playing with that sort of defence and thankfully it just opened up a little bit and managed to score in the corner.
“But there is a lot of method in the madness to get ourselves in that situation.”
Hogg crossed for Scotland’s first try of this year’s Championship before second-half scores from Chris Harris and Adam Hastings saw off Italy.
After defeats to Ireland and England in the opening two rounds, Hogg was delighted to help his side get their maiden win.
“We came across to do a job and we have done exactly that,” Hogg said. “I am incredibly proud of the boys.
“We stuck at it, put in a huge effort and came away with the all-important win.”
Hogg also praised the efforts of Scotland’s back-row as openside flanker Hamish Watson produced a display that earned him the Guinness Six Nations Man of the Match.
“Our boys had a huge challenge against their back row,” Hogg said. “They are outstanding individuals and have been playing extremely well.
“Our boys challenged them to front up and make sure that we were on the front foot.
“You could see that with Hamish’s performance backed up with Jamie (Ritchie) and Magnus (Bradbury) as well.
“I am proud of everybody’s efforts and for us now it’s the challenge of France in a couple of weeks.”
