John Hardie says Scotland relieved with first Six Nations win in nine games

John Hardie admits a weight has been lifted from Scotland's shoulders after claiming their first Six Nations victory in two years.

And now the Edinburgh flanker is targeting two more wins to ensure Vern Cotter's men finish this year's Championship on a high.

The kilted Kiwi scored the Scots' second try in their 36-20 victory over Italy in Rome on Saturday.

That result halted a nine-game run of defeats in the tournament and Hardie admits his team breathed a huge sigh of relief as the final whistle blew in the Eternal City.

He said: "We were never too far away. We were just one or two performances away from opening this Six Nations up.

"We tried to stay positive. We knew we were close to a big display and it is great to get that pressure off our shoulders.

"I'm really proud of how the boys did on Saturday. The defence was solid and the attack was really good too. I loved it.

"Hopefully now that the pressure is off a bit, we can really express ourselves in our last two games against France and Ireland.

"I think we can now look to end on a couple of really good wins. We're good enough to win these next two games and really push on.

"If we do that I will be really happy with how we are progressing as a team."