What they said

Head Coach Gregor Townsend said: “The players know this is the biggest tournament they play in.

“(On Italy) They’re a really quality side, they’ve shown that now for two or three years. They’ve been difficult for us and for other teams, and I think they’ll come into this Six Nations full of confidence.

“Their head coach Gonzalo Quesada is someone I know well from our playing days and he has had a lot of success as a coach at club level in France and Argentina, and now with the Italian national side. His teams play with a good mix of intelligence and ambition – and present a few challenges to our defence.”

The teams

The stats

• Italy averaged the most tackles per game of any men’s Tier 1 side in 2024 (164), while Scotland had the best tackle success rate (90%) of any such side last year.
• Scotland had the best goal-kicking success rate (96%) in the 2024 Six Nations. Finn Russell scored 55 of a possible 57 points from the boot.
• Duhan van der Merwe was the joint-top try scorer in the 2024 Guinness Men’s Six Nations (5, also Dan Sheehan) and finished the year as the outright top try scorer for any men’s Tier 1 nation (9) in addition to ranking first for defenders beaten (48); the Scotland winger has scored four tries across his previous four Six Nations games against Italy.

The matchday info