Scotland captain Stuart Hogg hailed "a hell of a performance" but still felt his team could have bagged more points after they pummelled Italy 52-10 at Murrayfield.
The rampant Scots topped 50 points for the first time against the Azzurri and also clinched their biggest margin of victory in the rivalry between the teams.
They ran in eight tries and Hogg overcame early misfiring to finish with six conversions, having been pressed into action at fly-half in the absence of Finn Russell.
Defeats in Edinburgh earlier in the championship had knocked Scotland out of contention, with a 25-24 loss to Wales followed by a 27-24 setback against Ireland.
The Scots showed their capabilities by beating England at Twickenham, however, and they will finish their campaign against France in Paris on Friday.
Hogg told the BBC: "I think all week we talked about having a big reaction and showing a performance that represented us.
"At times we probably lacked that clinical edge and we didn't score as many as we'd like to, but I am chuffed to bits with that. The boys put in a hell of a performance and that's where we want to be.
"We've had a huge amount of confidence from the very beginning of this Six Nations. It's just the little things that have killed us and that's the things that have annoyed us.
"We've been in every single game and we've scored 24 points in the last two games and managed to come away with defeats, so that's been bitterly disappointing.
"Today, that was more like us. We know we can throw the ball around and have some fun and hopefully that gives us a big boost ahead of next week as well."
Flanker Hamish Watson made 21 carries and was named man of the match.
Because Italy scored the game's first try, Watson admitted there had been early jitters in the Scotland ranks. But three yellow cards for Italy players made Scotland's task all the more comfortable.
"We were a bit worried at the start," Watson said. "We probably took our time to get into it a bit, but when we did I thought we did really well and we were clinical when we got the ball. I thought it was a good performance by us overall.
"We said earlier in the week that we were pretty gutted after the last two home defeats and we needed to put it right today and I think we did that.
"Italy always come here with a lot of ambition and they're a very aggressive team. We knew it was going to be tough for the first 10 or 20 minutes, then we had to build into the game. It's nice to get a good scoreline as well."
Italy captain Luca Bigi, who scored that early try, saw his team complete another championship of five consecutive defeats.
They have now lost 32 matches in a row in the Six Nations, and Bigi said: "It was a tough championship. We are so far from where we want to be.
"Obviously we cannot compete with three yellow cards so discipline was a key of this game. Scotland played an outstanding game.
"We will keep working. We have to be focused on what we can control and discipline is one of those things. It's a tough moment for us, but we never give up."
Australia victory a 'relief but enjoyable', says Ireland captain Doris
Caelan Doris said Ireland's victory over Australia in their final Autumn Nations Series campaign came with "relief, but also enjoyment" at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Ireland earned a hard-fought 22-19 win to earn their third victory on the spin after starting their campaign with a first home defeat in more than three years to New Zealand.
In what was Joe Schmidt's first match in Dublin since leaving the Ireland job in 2019, his Wallabies side threatened to spoil the Irish Rugby Football Union's 150th anniversary celebrations.
Australia had led for much of the contest and held a 13-5 advantage at the interval thanks to Max Jorgensen's try and some superb kicking from Noah Lolesio.
But Gus McCarthy's try clinched an Irish win, with Josh van der Flier and Doris also scoring tries for the hosts.
"There's relief, but there's also enjoyment there too. It's a quality side, they are Joe Schmidt-coached, and we knew it was going to be top class," Doris said.
"Their attack was right up there, and it was a test for our defence. It was back and forth throughout, and we're delighted with the outcome.
"It felt like we dominated possession and territory, but there was quite a lot of inaccuracy in their 22 and half. We turned it around and it was better in the second half."
The encounter also saw Cian Healy become the most-capped player when he came off the bench to win his 134th cap and surpass former captain Brian O'Driscoll.
For Schmidt, it was an unhappy return to Irish soil, though he can be happy with his side's display.
While he was disappointed to lose in Ireland, his Wallabies side again proved themselves a dangerous outfit, though he said he knew Saturday's hosts had a performance like that in them.
"I already knew that this group of young men had it in them. It was just for them to find it and galvanise each other," Schmidt said.
"I felt at times in that first half we didn't quite capitalise on some of the line breaks that we made. Max Jorgensen's try was really well worked.
"In the second half my one disappointment around the game is I felt we got quite conservative.
"When you do that against Ireland and you are hanging on, you've a four-point lead and you're hoping that's enough, but we tried to do that from too far out.
"I don't know what the territory or possession stats were but we were having to work very hard."
Suaalii boost for Australia ahead of Ireland clash
Joseph Suaalii has shrugged off a knock to be available for Australia's Test against Ireland on Saturday, coach Joe Schmidt confirmed.
Australia are looking to bounce back from Sunday's 27-13 defeat to Scotland in the concluding autumn Test at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Suaalii was withdrawn in the early stages of the contest against Scotland in Edinburgh amid fears that he had suffered a broken wrist.
"Joe's fine, he got one of those stingers where he had a bit of a dead arm," Schmidt said, providing an update on the 21-year-old Australia centre.
"We felt it was better to get it properly assessed, and we couldn't hold the game up to do that, so we took him out of the game against Scotland."
Against England earlier this month, rugby league convert Suaalii became only the third player after Matt Giteau and Tatafu Polota-Nau to debut for the Wallabies before playing in Super Rugby.
Schmidt, who coached Ireland from 2013 to 2019, has made five changes to his side from the defeat to the Scots.
James Slipper and Taniela Tupou have been recalled to the squad, while Jeremy Williams comes back from illness alongside Nick Frost.
Fraser McReight is also drafted into the back row while fly-half Tane Edmed is set for a first cap after finding a place among the replacements.
Meanwhile, Ireland have retained Sam Prendergast at fly-half for the autumn finale ahead of Jack Crowley.
Head coach Andy Farrell has also made five changes to an Ireland side that go into the Test on the back of a 52-17 win against Fiji.
Jamison Gibson-Park, James Lowe, Hugo Keenan, Ronan Kelleher and James Ryan all return to Farrell's side as they look to finish on a high.
Marler announces retirement from professional rugby
Joe Marler has announced his retirement from professional rugby, revealing he will "finally jump off the rollercoaster" following Harlequins' clash with Bristol Bears on Friday.
The former England prop will bring the curtain down on his decorated career at the age of 34.
Marler has spent his entire club career with Harlequins, winning two Premiership titles, the European Challenge Cup and making over 200 appearances.
He also earned 95 caps for England, who he represented at three World Cups - helping them reach the 2019 final and 2023 semi-finals - while also winning three Six Nations Championships.
"The time has come to finally jump off the rollercoaster and walk away from this beautifully brutal game," he said in a statement. "On Friday night, I'll play my last-ever match for Quins. After all these happy years, it's over.
"I feel lucky to have pulled on the jersey worn by so many idols of mine, and so many better players.
"That's an incredible thing to me. I got to stand alongside so many great players and people that have made this club so special."
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