Scotland May lock third place in 2023 Six Nations if they earn a bonus point Italy On home ground in BT Murrayfield.
Scotland’s championship started with such promise that they continued their dominance over England in the last Kolkata Cup and ended their hoodie against Wales, entering their first rest week with their grand slam aspirations still alive.
Gregor Townsend He then saw his troops suffer back-to-back defeats to France and Ireland, despite performing well in both matches. A victory over Italy may prevent a solid Six Nations from making their way into a daunting World Cup grouping, but a shocking loss could undermine much of what they’ve done up to this point.
The Azzurri showed many positive signs in the first three games of this championship, but a winnable game against a disarmed Welsh side saw them put on a loose show and suffered a frustrating defeat, giving them just one more chance to save the Six Nations campaign. .
Here’s everything you need to know about the fixture.
When and what channel is Scotland v Italy?
The match will start at 12:30 on Saturday, March 18. It will be shown on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
What’s the news from the team?
Scotland made four changes in their top 15 with Ollie Smith and Blair Kinghorn. for Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell with injuries.
They enter an otherwise unchanged line-up at the back, including the top goal scorer from tournament center Huw Jones. At forwards, Sam Skinner and Hamish Watson fell into the Matt Fagerson bench and Richie Gray was injured. Cameron Redpath prepares for his first appearance in the tournament as he starts from the bench.
Italy also made four changes to the starting line-up. Exciting young driver Simone Gesi comes in on the wing with Edoardo Padovani on matchday 23, and Alessandro Fusco is halfway through Stephen Varney.
At the forward, Marco Riccioni starts off the propeller and Edoardo Iachizzi is locked, and Niccolo Cannone falls into the bench.
Scotland v Italy squads
Scotland: Ollie Smith; Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe; Blair Kinghorn, Ben White; Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, Zander Fagerson, Sam Skinner, Jonny Grey, Jamie Ritchie, Hamish Watson, Jack Dempsey.
replacements: Ewan Ashman, Rory Sutherland, WP Nel, Scott Cummings, Matt Fagerson, Ali Price, Ben Healy, Cameron Redpath
Italy: Tommaso Allan; Pierre Bruno, Juan Ignacio Brex, Tommaso Menoncello, Simone Gesi; Paolo Garbisi, Alessandro Fusco; Danilo Fischetti, Giacomo Nicotera, Marco Riccioni, Edoardo Iachizzi, Federico Ruzza, Sebastian Negri, Michele Lamaro, Lorenzo Cannone.
replacements: Marco Manifredi, Federrico Zani, Pietro Ceccarelli, Niccolo Cannone, Giovanni Pettinelli, Manuel Zuliani, Alessandro Garbisi, Luca Morisi.
Odds
Scotland – 1/10
Draw – 45/1
Italy – 6/1