Mark Bennett’s intercept try and 11 points from skipper Greig Laidlaw’s boot looked to have put the hosts in command early on.

But scores from Joshua Furno and Giovanbattista Venditti, plus five points from kicker Kelly Haimona, allowed the Italians back into the contest just before the break.

Laidlaw added another penalty after the restart, but his side could not hold off a late surge from the Azzurri and left referee George Clancy no option but to hand the Italians a last-gasp penalty try, converted by Tommy Allan.

Scotland and Italy both knew whoever lost their head-to-head at Murrayfield would likely be the side who walked off with the RBS 6 Nations Wooden Spoon after both teams opened their campaign with back-to-back defeats.

So the loss of playmaker Finn Russell to suspension was a blow the Dark Blues could have done without, while the Azzurri would have preferred record-breaking prop Martin Castrogiovanni had not allowed a friend’s dog to chew his nose to pieces, ruling him out of the Edinburgh clash.

Vern Cotter, the Scots’ head coach, had been left with a dilemma over who should replace Russell but opted for Glasgow stand-off Peter Horne over Edinburgh rival Greig Tonks.

His three other changes saw prop Euan Murray reclaim his spot from Geoff Cross after missing the defeat to Wales because of religious reasons, the injured Richie Gray replaced by Glasgow’s Tim Swinson and Warriors team-mate Tommy Seymour return to take Tim Visser’s slot on the wing.

The home side huddled together just before kick-off as anticipation grew around the stadium. And they did not hang about as they gave the Scotland supporters an immediate cheer when skipper Greig Laidlaw nailed his first penalty within the opening minute.

The noise around the ground grew even louder seven minutes later as Italy fly-half Kelly Haimona gifted the ball straight to Mark Bennett and the Glasgow centre galloped home from 70 yards out to score under the posts.

But no sooner had Laidlaw put over the conversion, the Italians struck back. After forcing a line-out inside the Scots’ 22, the visitors got a heave on and drove the home side backwards before Joshua Furno dived over for the try. Haimona failed to make amends for his earlier gaffe though as he missed the conversion.

He did add a penalty soon after, but only once Laidlaw had done the same at the other end for the Scots, who led 13-8 at the 20-minute mark.

That early flurry of points was halted briefly as Irish referee George Clancy was forced to stop the action three times to lecture both sides on the proper method for setting the scrum.

The home fans were not amused by his intervention but they were smiling when Laidlaw added another penalty just before the half-hour mark.

But Clancy was running out of patience with Scotland’s front-row trio of Al Dickinson, Ross Ford and Euan Murray as the Italians were handed another penalty when the scrum collapsed again.

Haimona rattled the post with his kick but the rebound dropped into Giovanbattista Venditti’s hands just two yards out and the Azzurri wing burrowed low to ground the ball despite a raft of Scots desperately trying to keep him out. The conversion was added by Haimona as he cut Scotland’s interval lead to a single point.

The Scots found themselves under pressure again at the scrum early in the second period but this time held strong 10 yards from their own try line, much to the relief of the Murrayfield crowd.

But, when the home side was turned at another set-piece duel, the Italians were awarded a penalty.

However, substitute Tommy Allan – a former Scotland Under-20 cap – sliced his kick to give the Scots a let off.

It was now becoming a battle of the packs. The next scrum battle went Scotland’s way as the Italian forwards buckled. Laidlaw went for touch when the posts were there to be aimed at but it proved the wrong choice as Bennett coughed up possession with Scotland trying to move the ball wide.

The wind was back in Scotland’s sails, but they were denied a second score when Sean Lamont’s pass inside to the on-rushing Stuart Hogg went forward.

The Italians were tiring but fought bravely to hold off wave after wave of Scottish attack. But Laidlaw made sure to extend his side’s lead to four points when he knocked over a penalty from close range with quarter of an hour left.

But the visitors dug deep and pushed their way back into opposition territory. They mauled their way to within an inch of their third try, but the Scots managed to build a wall of red shirts and keep them out.

It was back to the scrum duel and the Italians heaped on the pressure as another set-piece went down. Clancy warned the Scots they were running out of chances to get it right, but when the Italians collapsed the next scrum the home side celebrated it as if it were a match-winning try.

It was not over yet and they had to play out the last two minutes without debutant lock Ben Toolis after he was sinbinned for dragging down a maul. The Azzurri sensed their chance and from the next drive got their reward as Clancy handed them a penalty try, converted by Allan.