Scotland look to finish strongly against the Italians

The end is nigh for the 2021 Six Nations and the final round will kick off at Murrayfield where the Scots will tackle Italy.

Gregor Townsend’s charges have had a good, competitive tournament, the highlight of which was a first victory at Twickenham in 38 years in Round 1.

They were unfortunate not to carry their winning ways through Round 2, as they were defeated by the Welsh by a single point. Scotland were significantly unfortunate in this particular match-up as they lost tighthead prop Zander Fagerson to a red card in the 54^th minute while his side were 2 points ahead.

Their Round 3 clash with France was called off due to Covid-19 before they suffered a nail-biting, last-gasp loss to Ireland last weekend.

Although out of the running as far as the title is concerned, the Scots can hold their heads high after showing definitively with modern skill and temperament that, after years of toil, they are taking their place amongst the world’s heavyweights once more.

The Italians, unfortunately, will be left scratching their heads in their attempts to draw positives from this campaign as they have been decidedly left in the dust by the rest of the pack.

The lowest score that Italy conceded in this competition was 41 (against England in Round 2) and queries as to their right to participate in Europe’s premier rugby tournament have risen in volume. They thus have all to play for, but seem unable to deliver on the field in the face of competent opposition.

They have failed to post a single log point so far and, subsequently, occupy last spot.

The history between these two nations tips in favour of the Scots who have won 24 of the 32 encounters. The most recent of the clashes ended with a 28-17 victory to Scotland in the Autumn Nations Cup in November 2020.

Odds are heavily stacked in favour of a Scottish victory with this one, however, it is hoped that the Italians will have ironed some issues out in time to make a contest of it.