Scotland braced for proper Italian job: higher win bonuses, sold-out Stadio Olimpico, danger under Quesada

Azzurri are on the up and Rome will be a stern test for Townsend and his team

Scotland have beaten Italy 13 times in a row but Gregor Townsend has been around long enough to know this is a game the Azzurri target above all others in the Six Nations.

The coach claims the Italian players used to receive a higher win bonus for beating Scotland and although you need to go back to 2015 for the last time they cashed in, this fixture remains the one which has given Italy most joy in the Six Nations. They have triumphed over the Scots seven times since joining the championship in 2000 and having come so close to beating France last time out there is an air of expectation among Italian supporters ahead of Saturday's match.

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The Stadio Olimpico is sold out, a rare occurrence for an Italy home game, and the capacity crowd of just under 70,000 will include around 15,000 Scots. It should make for a cracking atmosphere and Townsend expects a "massive threat" from opponents who have impressed under new coach Gonzalo Quesada. “I think they raise their game against anybody," said Townsend. "Chatting to the Italian staff over the years, it is the game they have targeted. I think they used to get a higher win bonus for beating Scotland than other teams.

Jack Dempsey takes a pass during a Scotland training session.Jack Dempsey takes a pass during a Scotland training session.
Jack Dempsey takes a pass during a Scotland training session.

“I think any Six Nations team will want to deliver the best performance at home. It’s a sell-out and they’ve not had a sell-out for a number of years. I don’t think they got a sell-out for England but this one, we’ve been told, is a sell-out. It shows the public feel an expectation or a connection with the team and that this could be a game they can win. But Italy are a massive threat for any side. Yes, Ireland had a really good win against them [this year] but last year in Rome Ireland were within seven points going into the last five minutes.

“Every team struggled with Italy last year and it’s both sides of the ball. They are really good defensively. They have people that will jackal, they have a back row who are real hard workers but the attacking side is where they’ve grown. The ambition they play with, while it’s slightly less adventurous in their own half this year, it is still a team playing more in the wide channels than any other team we’ll come up against. So people like Huw Jones and our wingers are going to have to be really strong in that area.”

Scotland have made three changes, one of them enforced. Cam Redpath takes over at inside centre from the injured Sione Tuipulotu, as expected. More surprising is the decision to rest Ben White and start with George Horne at scrum-half, with Ali Price on the bench. The third change is at six which continues to be a revolving door, with Andy Christie becoming the fourth different player selected there after Luke Crosbie, Matt Fagerson and Jamie Ritchie played against Wales, France and England, respectively. Fagerson and Ritchie have been named on the bench for Rome.

There is a sense that Italy have deserved more than they’ve got from this season's Six Nations. They pushed England all the way in their opening game and outscored Steve Borthwick's side by three tries to two before going down 27-24. Although they were well beaten by Ireland in round two, they came storming back to draw with France in Lille and would have been celebrating their best ever Six Nations result had Paolo Garbisi's penalty gone over rather then struck an upright in the game's final act.

Italy came close to upsetting Scotland last year in the Six Nations at Murrayfield.Italy came close to upsetting Scotland last year in the Six Nations at Murrayfield.
Italy came close to upsetting Scotland last year in the Six Nations at Murrayfield.

"They've been improving for some time," said Townsend. "They were a post away from beating France in France. Not many teams have done that over the last few years. And they were, I suppose, a knock-on away from beating us at Murrayfield last year. The year before they won in Wales. This is a team that's been very competitive against every opposition in the Six Nations."

If Italy are a little less adventurous under Quesada, Townsend still expects them to be dangerous, particularly out wide. The new coach is well known to Townsend who locked horns with the fellow fly-half during their playing days in the French top flight.

"They’re still playing the rugby that gets the likes of [Ignacio] Brex on ball and their back rowers out wide so they’ve kept that element of their attack which was really successful last year," said the Scotland coach. "Last year when you played them they were going to be running from their own 22 which was a big challenge but maybe didn’t work for them at the World Cup as it had in the Six Nations. Teams had more time to prepare and put strategies in place, but now they are going to be exiting out of that area and spent a bit of time on their kick chase. We won’t have as many opportunities to turn them over in their 22 but they’ll still move the ball wide outside of that area.

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“I know Gonzalo well. We’re good friends. We played against each other in France and we used to catch up so it was great to see him at the Six Nations launch and see him being a head coach at international level as well.”

Townsend said the squad was not thinking beyond Saturday's match but the coach knows that a bonus-point win in Rome would leave his side in second place going into the final round of fixtures. The title remains a long shot but a top-two finish would represent Scotland's highest ever finish in the championship since its expansion to six teams in 2000.

Asked if second place would be a good outcome, Townsend was unsure. “I don’t know," said the coach who has guided Scotland to two third-place finishes. "Anything to build on what we’ve done in the last few years would be an improvement. We’re focused on the performance and we know that at times it’s been better since the World Cup and last year’s Six Nations but still not where we believe this team can be.”