Six Nations:We can build on this - Townsend

Enigmatic Scotland star Gregor Townsend hopes his side’s nervy 23-19 win over an improving Italy can be the foundation on which the Scots can rebuild their international fortunes.

It may not have been pretty, but a match that was already being billed as the battle for the 2001 wooden spoon provided more than its share of drama and unpredictability.

Not least of which was how Townsend himself would perform in the less familiar position of outside centre when returning to the Murrayfield stage after a lengthy absence.

As it turned out, the Castres fly-half was at the heart of most of the good things Scotland did on Saturday afternoon but true to form he also had one moment he would doubtless rather forget.

‘‘It did take a while to adjust to being back in the side, especially at centre,’’ Townsend admitted ahead of another probable six-week international lay-off this time thanks to the foot and mouth epidemic which has delayed the clash with Ireland until May 12 at least.

‘‘We were all finding our feet again and the game was a bit stop-start, so we couldn’t really get much rhythm into our play.

‘‘I was happy in certain ways with my performance but there were a few things I wasn’t happy with and I have a lot to learn from that one.’’

Townsend, of course, is no absolute stranger to the centre position.

In his 57 international appearances before Saturday’s clash he had started 21 matches there, along with 33 in his more familiar stand-off berth and three as replacement.

But the 27-year-old does admit that getting to grips with the position on his return had been more difficult than he imagined it would be.

‘‘Yes, it was tough early on,’’ he said. ‘‘Being out for six weeks and then having to adjust to defence and various things was difficult. But after about 20 or 30 minutes I felt pretty much on the game.

‘‘We were controlling the ball pretty well and there was space, but we weren’t using it as well as we could have.

‘‘It was getting a bit frustrating because we should have taken two or three of our chances and then we would have seen a different performance.

‘‘We would have won much easier and been more confident.’’

Brad Johnstone’s men had clearly travelled to Murrayfield intent on playing a spoiling game. Had it not been for stand-off Duncan Hodge’s radar-boot accuracy the tenacious Italians could well have carried off an unlikely victory.

Especially after outstanding man-of-the-match flanker Mauro Bergamasco had stepped through a weak tackle before running away for the try which helped give Italy a 10-6 half-time lead.

And whose weak tackle was it? No prizes for guessing. A bit embarrassing really, given coach Ian McGeechan’s ringing endorsement of Townsend’s improved defensive qualities earlier in the week.

‘‘We thought Italy would start very strongly because they have done that in every game so far,’’ Townsend revealed.

‘‘But we dominated possession and then their try gave them a lead that they probably didn’t merit.

‘‘I’ve played against Bergamasco two or three times. He’s a very good player.

‘‘I just missed the tackle. If you miss one tackle and the player goes 60 metres down the field and scores, it’s a bit disappointing for you and the team.

‘‘But we hung on to get the win and we can now build on that.’’

What exactly will their opening Six Nations victory do for Scottish fortunes?

‘‘I hope it makes the guys a lot easier on the ball,’’ Townsend said. ‘‘It has taken the pressure off, getting that first win at home.

‘‘We have now got six weeks before the next game, although there might be a friendly before that, and we can work a lot in our Monday sessions.

‘‘And I think the six-week break will work well for us.

‘‘I saw an interview with Graham Henry where they were asking him the same thing, whether such a long gap had helped his team. It obviously did by the way Wales beat France.

‘‘There was a lot of relief after the game. We would have liked to have taken our chances and built a lead up, but we had to grind out a win and that’s what we did.’’