"I'm devastated by the result but I felt we did a few good things out there," said Scotland's Australian coach, Matt Williams who is rebuilding the team after the retirement of veterans Gregor Townsend, Bryan Redpath and Kenny Logan.
"Our defense was well organized and I felt we did a good job in keeping them out for most of the game."
Kirwan, whose job was said to be at risk if Italy had lost to the Scots, said he was overjoyed for the players "who made great sacrifices to reach this result."
"The team played with great intelligence and De Marigny was a key to victory," the Kiwi said.
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