Murray takes positive from defeat

Glasgow prop Euan Murray believes the way the Scotland front row stood up to the much-vaunted Italy pack is one positive from the defeat at the hands of the Azzurri in the RBS 6 Nations Championship.

Italy recorded their first victory in this tournament away from the Stadio Flaminio when they stunned Scotland 37-17 at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Murray said: "It's definitely nice to part of a Scotland front row that's being praised. We're all learning and all improving and I'm feeling more and more comfortable in international rugby."

Against Italy the backs left the side with a mountain to climb after six minutes when they gifted the visitors three tries - through Mauro Bergamasco, Andrea Scanavacca and Kaine Robertson - to fall 21-0 behind.

They were then ineffective as Scotland attempted to drag themselves back into the game, perhaps only Rob Dewey and Sean Lamont looking able to break the line.

Murray enjoyed another fine game on the loosehead and is now a fixture in Scotland's pack having only played two Six Nations matches.

He said: "The Italians are really good players and it was a good experience. They had a whole front row on the bench too, which they used, so that made it a bit more challenging.

"Our set piece was reasonably solid as the game progressed but we'll look back at the video and see what we can improve on.

"We're coming up against some of the best front rows in the world and it's good to challenge yourself against that. I'm learning in every game, every scrum even.

"The Italians were some of the best scrummagers I've come up against but we knew that would be the case because they have a reputation for being a dominant pack, especially the front row."