EDINBURGH — A last-minute penalty try earned Italy a 22-19 victory over Scotland at Murrayfield Saturday and only its second away win in the Six Nations. In a match billed as the battle to avoid the wooden spoon, Italy trailed throughout largely due to the trusty boot of Scotland skipper Greig Laidlaw, but snatched the win at the death after camping on the Scotland line. With Italy's pack bulldozing over the line the match referee had no choice but to award a penalty try, which was converted by Tommaso Allan to spark Italian celebrations as they secured their first points of the 2015 tournament. They previously won in Scotland in 2007. Scotland, impressive despite defeats by France and Wales in their opening two fixtures, made a fast start with Laidlaw's early penalty followed by center Mark Bennett's try after he intercepted Kelly Haimona's pass. Italy's forward power quickly manifested itself though with a huge shove near the Scotland line resulting in Joshua Furno touching down to halve the deficit. Laidlaw and Haimona traded penalties before another Laidlaw kick put Scotland 16-8 ahead. A frenetic first half ended with Italy breathing down Scotland's necks after Giovanbattista Venditti reacted quickly to Haimona's penalty against the post, turning a possible three points into seven for a converted try. The scoreboard slowed down after the break with Scotland's forays forward meeting an Italian wall while the visitors struggled for meaningful ball. Allan wasted a penalty that would have put the Italians ahead while Laidlaw's penalty was the only score of a tense second period until the late drama. Bulls beat Sharks Center Jan Serfontein earned a bonus point on the hooter for the Bulls as they claimed a first win of the Super Rugby season with a 43-35 victory over the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld Saturday. Springbok Serfontein powered over the line with the last play of the game to go with earlier tries for scrumhalf Francois Hougaard and loose-forwards Deon Stegmann and Pierre Spies. Flyhalf Handre Pollard converted three of those and added four penalties with a perfect kicking performance, while his replacement, debutant Tian Schoeman, 23, added a conversion and penalty of his own. The Sharks had number eight Ryan Kankowski and scrumhalf Cobus Reinach cross the line, but were only briefly in front in a game where they trailed 23-16 at halftime. Pollard's Springbok rival Pat Lambie, who has been criticised in the past for inconsistency with the boot, landed seven penalties and two conversions for a match haul of 25 points. — Agencies
