Italy v Scotland: Five talking points ahead of Six Nations clash in Rome
Last Updated: 27/02/16 1:53pm
Five talking points, including Scotland's Six Nations losing streak, ahead of their clash against Italy in Rome.
In the eight Six Nations championships that preceded this year's edition, only once have Scotland and Italy not been the bottom two teams at the end of the tournament. Worse for Vern Cotter's men, in recent times they have found themselves at the bottom of the table instead of their Italian counterparts.
A resurgence under Cotter saw the Scots narrowly miss out on a World Cup semi-final, and there were equally slender losses at the hands of England and Wales in the opening two rounds of the Six Nations as Scotland build towards a more cohesive era.
Italy on the other hand are ushering in an exciting dynamic to their game; the powerful forwards are now complemented by a genuinely threatening backline. We look at five points where this game could be won or lost...
Back to winning ways
A lot has been made about Scotland's poor run of form in the Six Nations. They have lost nine consecutive matches in the competition dating back to 2014, and if not for a 79th-minute drop goal from Duncan Weir to beat Italy in Rome that year, the record would have been far worse.
Despite the unsightly run, Scotland aren't putting their focus on it, preferring to look ahead to this weekend's challenge according to second rower Richie Gray.
"I try not to think about it too much," said Gray. "When you play rugby, especially at international level, you invest a huge amount of emotion into it. And when you come off the back of a loss, it's tough. You sit there and get down and have to dust yourself off.
"I certainly feel emotional after a loss but you just have to come out fighting. We've not spoken about a run. We're excited to go into a tough Test match over there.
"I certainly think winning is a habit and an art. And I think if we can get that win and get a couple on the bounce, you will start to see a more confident side and a side that knows what it can do. A win would be huge."
Second division Scotland?
Returning winger Tim Visser says Sir Clive Woodward's comments about "second division" Scotland will put fire in the bellies of his team-mates for the rest of the Six Nations.
England beat Scotland and Italy in their first two encounters this year, and in his Daily Mail column last week, Woodward summed up the wins by saying England have "dealt very well with the Second Division of the Six Nations but it's First Division all the way from this point onwards".
His comments were not warmly welcomed by Scotland, and Harlequins star Visser believes Woodward's view will only serve to inspire the Scots.
Speaking on Rugby Club Agenda last week, Visser said: "It will put a bit of fire in the bellies I think.
"The Scots obviously don't get on too well with the English anyway, but stuff like that and whatever he means by it… I don't actually know what he means by that, it's pretty insincere as far as I can see."
Italian evolution
Italy have shown a desire this year to play an attacking game. Their 40-9 loss to England was a classic Italian affair in that they were in the game until the final quarter where they were blown away, but their opening-round defeat to France gave them plenty more to build on.
The impressive Carlo Canna pulled the strings from fly-half in Paris that day, linking well with his backline to put Italy ahead until the final ten minutes where France staged a comeback.
Canna was once again impressive against England the following week, but has failed to recover from a knock he picked up during the game, and as a result Kelly Haimona has been handed a start.
It won't be easy for Haimona to pick up where his compatriot left off, but he still has the attacking skills of Leonardo Sarto and Exeter centre Michele Campagnaro to call upon.
Campagnaro was sublime in the first round and almost as good in the second. Can the Italian backs guide their side to a win in Rome?
Back to basics
Italy may have shown a desire to play a more expansive game, but according to Cotter, Scotland won't be drawn to a change in the way they go about business in Rome.
"Italy have shown they are a talented team, particularly in their performance away against France, but also against England," Cotter said.
"They surprised both teams with their physicality, intensity and quality, all of which we will have to be ready for, and at least equal to, if we are to win in Rome this weekend," the New Zealander added.
"We have worked hard to improve our game and will stay true to the core values of this team, which is to work hard but stay calm; have belief in our systems, ourselves, and enjoy the opportunity."
Scotland have said in the past it's their desire to play an attacking brand of rugby, but with the pressure to win higher than ever, expect them to revert to the basics to grind out the win.
Leaders of the pack
In the modern game the matches are often won at the breakdown, with fetchers becoming more and more important in the back row, but what will dictate victory in this game is a throwback to a time that pleased toothless forwards for generations - the set piece.
None of the 16 forwards picked to start on either side have been selected for their subtlety and the collisions will be substantial. As the old proverb goes, when elephants fight it's the grass that suffers, and the turf at Stadio Olimpico is sure to take a battering on Saturday.
At the forefront of it all will be the two hookers - Ross Ford and Leonardo Ghiraldini. With almost 180 Test caps between them they've seen and done it all, so expect no surprises in Rome.
Ghiraldini has not featured for Italy since picking up an injury at the World Cup last year, so he will bring plenty of energy to a clash that promises to fire up the purists.
Italy: 15 David Odiete, 14 Leonardo Sarto, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Gonzalo Garcia,11 Mattia Bellini,10 Kelly Haimona, 9 Edoardo Gori; 1 Andrea Lovotti, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 4 Marco Fuser, 5 Joshua Furno, 6 Francesco Minto, 7 Alessandro Zanni, 8 Sergio Parisse (c).
Replacements: 16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Matteo Zanusso,18 Martin Castrogiovanni,19 Valerio Bernabo, 20 Andries Van Schalkwyk, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Edoardo Padovani, 23 Andrea Pratichetti.
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Duncan Taylor, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (c); 1 Alasdair Dickinson, 2 Ross Ford, 3 Willem Nel, 4 Richie Gray, 5 Jonny Gray, 6 John Barclay, 7 John Hardie, 8 David Denton.
Replacements: 16 Stuart McInally, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Moray Low, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Peter Horne, 23 Sean Lamont.