Quesada laments Italy’s slow start and blunt finish in Scotland defeat

EDINBURGH : Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada lamented a slow start for his side that led to them conceding two tries in the opening eight minutes of the 31-19 loss to Scotland in their Six Nations opener at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Italy trailed 14-0 but rallied to pull level at 19-19 early in the second half, only for Scotland to seize the initiative again in the final quarter.

Italy had plenty of the ball in the closing stages but could not get closer on the scoreboard as Scotland crossed for five tries to the visitors' one.

"It's a shame because we started the game with two tries that were too easy for them, we needed time to really get into the game," Quesada told Rai.

"Between the end of the first half and the beginning of the second it went better, we changed mentality and aggression in the contact area.

"We wanted to be in the game in the 60th minute and instead that (fourth) try freed Scotland and forced us to play a bit of a complicated game."

Quesada said his side will have to improve their defence ahead of next Saturday’s home fixture against Wales.

"In defence we were too tight, we worked too hard in the ruck and the defence could not be aggressive," he said.

"They were good at catching us high and slowing down the ball. We found solutions at halftime and at 19-19 we could have taken control of the game,

"Four tries too (easily conceded), two scrum defences in which we let ourselves get taken on the inside without any real danger.

"The difference was here, they could easily score on actions that we normally know how to defend."

Quesada also called on his team’s attack to sharpen up.

"What didn't work in our attack is that all our launches in the game ended up slowed down by their defence that we knew was good at holding