Head coach Sean Lineen admits he was bitterly disappointed with his team’s display after watching Scotland A lose 13-3 against Italy A in Biella.

From the opening minute, Italy A attacked with real gusto and moved the ball around at a frenetic pace which Scotland A struggled to handle.

Level with one penalty apiece at half time, Italy A scored the decisive try through centre Matteo Pratichetti on the hour mark with stand-off Luciano Orquera contributing the home team’s other eight points.

Scotland A’s only points arrived courtesy of a penalty from stand-off Ruaridh Jackson in the latter stages of the first half; a rare sojourn up the pitch for the visitors.

As a result, Lineen believes it was one of the most frustrating 80 minutes he has ever experienced in his coaching career.

Lineen said: “As a coach that was probably the most disappointing game I’ve ever been involved in at any level.

“We clearly need more preparation time together – one session before the game isn’t enough – because that was an unacceptable performance.

“Our set-piece disintegrated, we lost several line-outs and our scrum struggled, so there was no platform there at all.

“It was still 3-3 at half-time and we thought we were still in it. But we made too many poor decisions on the ball.”

Orquera drilled a long range penalty through to stretch Italy A’s lead to 10-points and, underneath the Alps, Scotland A were left with a mountain to climb.

But after conceding the try, Scotland A produced some of their best passages of play and threatened the home side with some positive attacking play.

Nevertheless that period did not translate into points and replacement David Blair missed a penalty.

Italy A started the game in swashbuckling fashion and scored a penalty after just two minutes.

Orquera was left with the straightforward task of directing his penalty attempt between the posts and, with the temperature in the Stadio Vittorio Pozzo plummeting, Scotland were caught cold.

Always on the look-out for a quick tap penalty or off-loading in the tackle and assertive at the breakdown, Italy A played with urgency and abrasiveness in the first half.

Captain Greig Laidlaw tried to seize control of the game and Richie Vernon made an eye-catching break inside the opening 15 minutes, but generally Scotland A looked both unsure and nervy when in possession.

On the 15 minute mark, Italy A were awarded another penalty, this time taken from further out, after Scotland A were punished for an offside offence.

But Orquera’s effort sailed harmlessly wide of the target to prevent Scotland A from going six points behind.

Dominant at the set-piece and always looking to probe Scotland A’s defence with some testing kicks, Italy A were the more efficient team in the opening 20 minutes.

Unfortunately when Scotland A did achieve making ground up the pitch they were repeatedly penalised for not releasing the ball by the referee, Mathieu Raynal.

Straight after the half-time interval, Italy A continued to apply the pressure and were awarded another penalty, but Orquera missed the inside of the post by inches with his attempt drifting wide.

Scotland A survived a few further scares – another missed penalty and miscued drop-goal attempt – and withstood a barrage of pressure from the home side.

Jackson’s penalty arrived when centre Alex Grove made an enterprising break on 37 minutes, but was tackled off the ball and the young Glasgow stand-off restored parity.

Overall it was a frustrating evening for Lineen’s young side, the starting line-up had an average age of just 25, and some lessons were learned in northern  Italy.

Italy A: Paolo Buso (Futura Park Rugby Roma); Samuele Pace (Viadana), Andrea Pratichetti (Femi-CZ Rovigo), Matteo Pratichetti (Viadana), Michele Sepe (Viadana); Luciano Orquera (Brive), Simon Picone (Treviso); Franco Sbaraglini (Treviso), Davide Giazzon (Banca Monte Parma), Ignacio Rouyet (Treviso), Tommaso Reato (Femi-CZ Rovigo), Valerio Bernabo (Futura Park Roma), Simone Favaro (Banca Monte Parma), Manoa Vosawai (Banca Monte Parma).
Replacements: Tommaso D’Apice (Futura Park Rugby Roma), Pedro Di Santo (Treviso), Mantvydas Tveraga (Banca Monte Parma), Silvio Orlando (Treviso), Pietro Travagli (Femi-CZ Rovigo), Kristopher Burton (Consiagi Cavalieri), Roberto Quartaroli (Banca Monte Parma).
Substitutions: Favaro for Erasmus 39 minutes, Quartaroli for Buso 49 minutes, D’Apice for Giazzon 51 minutes, Di Santo for Rouyet 55, Tveraga for Reato 62 minutes, Burton for A Pratichetti 70 minutes, Travagli for Sepe 79 minutes.

Scotland A: Colin Gregor (Glasgow Warriors); Mark Robertson (Edinburgh), Alex Grove (Worcester Warriors), John Houston (Edinburgh), Simon Webster (Edinburgh); Ruaridh Jackson (Glasgow Warriors), Greig Laidlaw (captain, Edinburgh); Jon Welsh (Glasgow Warriors), Andrew Kelly (Edinburgh), Kyle Traynor (Edinburgh), Richie Gray (Glasgow Warriors), Scott MacLeod (Edinburgh), James Eddie (Glasgow Warriors), Scott Gray (Northampton Saints), Richie Vernon (Glasgow Warriors).

Replacements: Fergus Thomson (Glasgow Warriors), Ed Kalman (Glasgow Warriors), Craig Hamilton (Edinburgh), Roddy Grant (Edinburgh), Mark McMillan (Glasgow Warriors), David Blair (Edinburgh), Peter Murchie (Glasgow Warriors)

Substitutions: Grant for S.Gray 51 minutes, Thomson for Kelly 51 minutes, Kalman for Welsh 59 minutes, Blair for Jackson 65 minutes, Hamilton for R Gray 68 minutes, McMillan for Laidlaw 74 minutes.

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Cyril Lafon (France), Stéphane Boyer (France)
Assessor: Alberto Recaldini (Italy)