A relieved Gregor Townsend has thanked English Premiership clubs for agreeing to release his Scotland players for Friday’s delayed Six Nations game against France, which will conclude the championship. With his side claiming a record-breaking 52-10 win against Italy, Townsend knows that second place in the table is still possible. The Scotland coach was left sweating after tournament organisers announced this past week that the clash in Paris would go ahead this Friday despite there being no agreement in place that would allow him to select key men who play their club rugby south of the border. But a deal has now been agreed, meaning players such as the captain Stuart Hogg and his Exeter teammate Jonny Gray can face Les Bleus. Scotland had been due to travel to the Stade de France last month but the game was postponed after a coronavirus outbreak in Fabien Galthié’s squad. As the rearranged date lies outside the international window, the English clubs were under no obligation to make players available. But Townsend – speaking after his side had overcome the hiccup of conceding the game’s first try – revealed: “I’ve just been told the negotiations are coming to an end. There’s going to be a positive outcome which is great to hear. “Thanks to the parties involved – Scottish Rugby, the Six Nations and the PRL – that we can get to this situation where we’ll have a strong squad – as strong as we can have – going to Paris, which is a really important game for us and the tournament. “Does this protect the integrity of the competition? Yeah, I believe it does but I also believe it shows we can work together and find a solution. “I’m sure there was compromises and understanding from both parties. I’m sure there’s been some financial contributions as well. But it’s great we can have our players for this massive game next week.” The news is a further boost for Scotland after they recovered from back-to-back defeats against Wales and Ireland to smash Italy and record their biggest ever Championship win. It was the visitors who started the brighter, scoring inside six minutes when Luca Bigi squeezed over to score in the corner as Scotland’s maul defence crumbled. But it would not last as Italy’s own inability to resist a lineout drive led to Scotland hitting back within four minutes, with David Cherry powering over. Stuart Hogg’s conversion went wide but he then combined with Sam Johnson and Hamish Watson to release Duhan van der Merwe in space out wide and the big wing motored over. Hogg converted and though Paolo Garbisi fired a penalty over it was futile resistance. Federico Mori saw yellow for a reckless shoulder hit on Johnson and Scotland were quick to exploit their temporary man advantage when Sean Maitland charged to within sight of the line. Huw Jones was immediately pounced upon by Mattia Bellini before he could score. But there was no salvation for the Azzurri as Jones popped a pass off the ground for Darcy Graham to jog over. Italy looked stunned. Garbisi tried to take some pressure off his side by pinning the Scots down in their own 22 with a high kick – but the pace at which Townsend’s team moved the ball was simply too quick for Franco Smith’s men to cope with. Van der Merwe chewed up ground down the left before passing to Hogg. His immediate offload to Jones caught Italy by surprise, with the Glasgow centre charging through for the bonus point before the half-hour mark had even been reached. The half-time whistle brought respite for Italy but only briefly, as Cherry scored his second with a carbon copy of the first, peeling off the maul and diving for the line from close range. Italy’s troubles worsened again as Sebastian Negri was given a stint in the bin for a deliberate knock-on, with Scott Steele – so impressive with his rapid tempo around the breakdown – this time capitalising as he followed Johnson’s quick dart towards the line to crawl over for the sixth try. By the time Negri was back on, Monty Ioane headed past him as he was shown yellow for a tip tackle on Hogg, and the tries continued to flood in. Johnson got a richly deserved score with 15 minutes left as Scotland took a quick tap penalty, while Van der Merwe then powered through for his second from halfway.