Italy v Scotland 6 Nations Championship Saturday 12th March 2022

First topic message reminder :

Italy v Scotland
6 Nations Championship
Stadio Olympico
Rome

Saturday 12th March
KO 15.15 (local time)


So my biannual trip to Rome has come along again and I am wondering what i am going to be seeing this time around.

Having been the past two occasions, I am less full of the joys than some Scottish fans may be. We have made pretty hard work of it on both occasions and quite frankly aught to have lost 4 years ago. It was and remains, the classic banana skin game for a Scottish team and the one that the Italians will always feel that they have got a chance.

I might be feeling more confident had we really done ourselves any kind of justice in the past two games, but we certainly have not.

I might also be feeling a bit more confident were any of our star players living up to their billing and showing any kind of form, but they are not.

I also might be feeling a lot more confident were we able to put out our strongest side, wheras in reality we have gone from our best ever depth, to digging deep into the barrel in only a matter of weeks.


This is still a game we should win and comfortably, but i am not really sure that is what it will be at the end of the day and I will probably be happy with a one point win with an 80th minute drop goal if that is what it takes to steady the ship, as at the moment it seems all over the place.


Fortunately for us, Italy continue to struggle and with injuries and suspensions, will also be a way away from their best team. They have been well beaten in all three games so far, despite blooding their next generation of players and are clearly still struggling in this competition even if there are some decent signs of progress for the future. They won't lack passion and commitment, as their heroic defensive effort against Ireland showed but may still lack the game craft to win at this level yet.

The Scotland team now seems far from clear. Surely some players need to pay with their shirts for the poor performances in the last two games, but a wholesale clearout seems unlikely and a bench spot is maybe a more realistic option to remind a misfiring star player that they are not indispensable.

So maybe something like this:


1. Schoeman
2, McInally
3. Fagerson Z - was in the team of the week last week for his scrumaging, even if the stupid penalties persist
4. Gilchrist
5. Skinner
6. Darge
7. Watson
8. Bayliss - Fagerson still not fit and Bradbury still not convincing
9. White - deserves a start
10. Kinghorn - if not now then when?
11. Graham
12. Tuipolotu
13. Bennett
14. Steyn - assuming DVDM is out and with other injuries probably the safest option
15. Hogg


Subs:

Dell - hard to think who else is fit
Turner - though Ashman must be close
Nel/Berghan - can't make up my mind
Hodgson
Christie - deserves another crack and covers the whole of the back row
Price - hopefully warming the pine will have the desired effect
Russell - see above
Harris - but would have no issue with another flair player like Hutchinson coming in.


With that selection, I would expect to see Blairhorn moving out into the back three at some stage probably early in the second half and hopefully Price and Russell coming on to finish the game.

I live in hope!

BigGee wrote:Something else i brought back from Rome, other than a rucksack of parmasan cheese and lots of good memories

I caught covid!

So
A rugby weekend away
Three days radio silence, not a peep from you
"Oh my wallet got lifted by a pickpocket"
I've come back with a socially transmitted disease.

Standard rugby tour then, Gee.

jimbopip wrote:

BigGee wrote:Something else i brought back from Rome, other than a rucksack of parmasan cheese and lots of good memories

I caught covid!

So
A rugby weekend away
Three days radio silence, not a peep from you
"Oh my wallet got lifted by a pickpocket"
I've come back with a socially transmitted disease.

Standard rugby tour then, Gee.

And i am certainly getting to old for them!