Scotland co-captain Rory Darge said his side’s discipline was not good enough as they threw away an 11-point lead and became the first Six Nations side to lose to Italy in Rome for 11 years.  

Darge said the players were “gutted” post-match, but praised the home side for the way they responded to falling behind inside the first quarter.  

Darge said: “Credit to Italy, they were really good and put us under a lot of pressure but there was a lot we could have done better.  

“We’re obviously gutted. We’ve spoken as a group and it’s important that we stay tight, stay connected and look forward to next week. 

“We’ve got to let it hurt, and just now it obviously does, but by the time we come in on Monday, we’ve got to use it as motivation to go into a massive game.” 

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Scotland looked to have reassumed control shortly after half-time as George Horne sprinted under the posts for what would have been a fourth try – and taken Scotland 29-16 clear.  

However the score was disallowed for a block by Pierre Schoeman, and Darge said Scotland’s response was not good enough.  

“We can do better after it,” he said.  

“We’ve got to be able to move on from situations like that and control what we can control. That’s what the learning and focus will be for next week. 

“It is what it is - some decisions go your way, some don’t. It’s about what you can do.” 

Again Scotland found themselves on the wrong side of the referee, conceding 12 penalties to the hosts’ five, and Darge said that was a huge contributing factor in a second defeat of the campaign. 

The co-captain added: “Discipline comes from a lot of different things, it’s not just one area. We just kept giving Italy energy and field position.”