Pyrgos late try ends Scotland's losing streak
Scotland needed a late try from replacement Henry Pyrgos to end their losing streak at the expense of Italy.
Henry Pyrgos' late try gave Scotland their first win of the year as Italy were beaten 16-12 in Saturday's World Cup warm-up in Turin.
Scrum-half Pyrgos, who also crossed when captaining his country in a defeat against Ireland last weekend, came off the bench to score the only try of a poor game six minutes from time to give Scotland a first win in seven outings.
It was certainly not one for the purists as both sets of players looked to make an impression with World Cup squads to be announced before the end of the month and Scotland looked set for another defeat until Pyrgos' telling impact late on.
The two sides were locked at 9-9 at half-time, with Duncan Weir scoring Scotland's points with the boot and Gonzalo Garcia booting over a penalty before Tommaso Allan levelled with a further two penalties at Stadio Olimpico.
Allan, who played for Scotland at junior level, put Italy in front with another three-pointer in the first half but Pyrgos took a quick penalty and grabbed a pass from Matt Scott to settle it, with Weir adding the extras.
Scotland lost captain Grant Gilchrist to illness before kick-off, so Jim Hamilton came into the second row and the visitors were in front after only two minutes, when Weir slotted over a penalty after a scrum went down.
Weir doubled Scotland's lead 12 minutes in with a straightforward penalty after Italy failed to move away quickly enough, but Garcia got Italy up and running after being denied by the woodwork with a long-range penalty.
Weir then made it 9-3 after Samuela Vunisa was penalised for offside, but Allan ensured Italy were level at the break by making no mistake with two penalties.
Flowing rugby was in short supply after the break, but Allan edged Italy in front for the first time before Pyrgos entered the fray.
Martin Castrogiovanni also made a difference off the bench, but it was Pyrgos who made his presence felt most as he raced over after showing initiative to take a quick penalty and took an inside ball from Scott before going over.
Weir added the extras to give Scotland a psychological boost ahead of the World Cup, which starts next month, and they will aim to follow that up by beating the same opponents at Murrayfield next weekend.