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An emotional Vern Cotter fought back tears as his final match in charge of Scotland ended in a 29-0 win over Italy at Murrayfield.
Five-eighth Finn Russell, replacement centre Matt Scott and wingers Tim Visser and Tommy Seymour scored tries as the Scots earned a bonus-point win and protected their fifth place in the world rankings ahead of the 2019 World Cup draw.
Italy, who lost all five matches in the tournament, failed to register a point as No.10 Carlo Canna missed three penalties and the backs fluffed two clear try-scoring chances early in the second half.
The Scots, humbled 61-21 by England last weekend, climbed to second in the standings before the day’s later matches after notching a fourth consecutive home win for the first time since 2006.
“I’d like to thank the players and everybody for the last three years, it’s been fantastic,” the head coach said in a quivering voice before embracing his players and staff.
Fullback Stuart Hogg got Scotland off the mark with a penalty after five minutes before Canna missed a chance to level when he pulled his kick wide from a good position.
That miss summed up Italy’s miserable afternoon even if it took the home side nearly half an hour for their first big breakthrough.
Following a penalty lineout, halfback Ali Price passed to Russell on the blind side and the five-eighth darted between two defenders to score the first try.
The Scots recovered their dominance in the final quarter and Visser and Seymour added tries with Russell converting both.
“Great performance from the boys,” Russell told the BBC. “We knew we had to try and get a bonus point, so it was great to get a fourth try and to keep them to nil helps if it comes down to that. We were very disappointed after last week. It was great to come back and get a bonus point here.”
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