Italy snatch win over Scots with late goal

By Paul Virgo

ROME (Reuters) - Fullback Andrea Marcato scored a last-minute drop goal to give Italy a 23-20 win over Scotland on the final day of the Six Nations on Saturday.

The win was not sufficiently big, however, for the Italians to avoid the wooden spoon, Scotland just avoiding a second successive bottom place.

Marcato kicked 13 points with the rest coming from a Gonzalo Canale touchdown and a penalty try as Azzurri coach Nick Mallett secured his first win since succeeding Pierre Berbizier in November.

Tries by Mike Blair and Allister Hogg, a Dan Parks penalty and another perfect kicking display by Chris Paterson, whose two conversions and a penalty took his tally to 33 goals in a row, were not enough to give the Scots a positive ending to a poor campaign.

The margin of victory was just two points short of what Italy needed to move above the Scots, who beat England 15-9 last week for their only win the tournament, in the final standings.

The home side had Scotland in trouble in the fifth minute when they stole the ball from a scrum in the visitors' 22 but they were let down by poor hands and some wild distribution from flyhalf Andrea Masi.

Scotland then had to reorganise their backline, with Andrew Henderson coming in at centre and Simon Webster moving out wide after when wing Simon Danielli, playing his first international in three years, was taken off with an ankle injury.

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