Scotland V Italy, Murrayfield, 2.30

A win for Italy in Edinburgh is a superb chance for the regular whipping boys of European rugby to solidify what has already become a tournament destined to live on in memory.

Saturday’s clash against Scotland has perennially been the wooden spoon encounter, but with the victory over France in Rome last Sunday this a golden opportunity for Italy to secure two wins in a Six Nations championship since 2007.

With the improving fortunes of Italian club sides such as Treviso and Zebre there is every reason to be positive about Italian rugby these days as the Italians’ shock victory over the French showed that Italian rugby is on the way forward.

A key battle in Saturday’s game is the battle of the outhalves. Luciano Orquera is coming off the back of a super performance against France and having lead the Italians to a well-deserved victory with his gifted passing and quick feet the Zebre number 10 should be full of confidence. On the other hand Ruaridh Jackson, the Scottish outhalf, is coming off a poor performance against England and with no more than seven Scottish caps to his name seems slightly out of depth in the Six Nations as he undertakes the tough task of trying to fill Dan Park’s boots.

Scotland will call on Kelly Brown, Richie Gray and Stuart Hogg to face down the challenge of Sergio Parisse and Alessandro Zanni, who rarely under perform for the Auzzuari. If Scotland can withstand the Italian attack and subsequently show their great counter attacking ability, then we could have a good, entertaining game on our hands.

-Gavin Barrett

Photo credit: Italy's Paul Derbyshire and Sergio Parisse celebrate victory over France
©INPHO/Dan Sheridan