Here's something you don't hear every year – Scotland and Italy go into the next match with plenty of reasons to be positive. And here's something that has probably never been uttered in the history of international rugby – the match between the Scottish and Italians, if they carry on from their previous outings, should be cracker. Yes, it seems that although they came away with different results from last weekend's matches, both sides are intent on playing fast, physical and ambitious rugby which makes a change from the stodgy set-piece-focused brand of boredom we are used to having served upon us by these two sides.
Scotland scored two cracking tries in their loss to England
and generally looked lively throughout, and they will want to focus on getting
the ball to their flyers as quickly as possible, with Stuart Hogg looking as if
he's in deadly form. However, like last
weekend, they won't be getting any ball at all if they don't front up and
dominate the collisions as the size of their pack dictates they should. They were bossed around the park by a
smaller, but faster and more aggressive England side, and the Italians won't
exactly be any easier – in fact, they'll be somewhat larger. On top of that, Scotland simply have to get the
win. Despite all the promise over the
last year and a bit, they have failed to deliver – with the exception of a
great win in Australia – always going down as the 'brave' losers. The fans, and the team, are fed up with being
'brave'. Steve Borthwick is brave. Martin Corry was brave. If brave is the best superlative that can be
thrown at you, you're not good enough.
Time to step up.
Italy, on the other hand, caused one of the biggest shocks
in championship history – up there with when they beat this weekend's opponents
in the opening match of the inaugural 6 Nations tournament – and they will have
been chomping at the bit all week to get out there at Murrayfield and prove
their superb win over France was no fluke.
What impressed me most against the French was their physicality and their
game management. There were some huge
hits going in from both sides, but as the game wore on the Azzurri carried on
with relentless intensity whilst the French faded away. It was also noticeable how, when their attack
had stalled, they wouldn't just kick the ball back to the opposition, but instead they
would reset their forwards and start again, going back to basics and opening up
angles for fly half Luciano Orquera to claim territory with a series of magnificent
touch-finders. After watching Scotland's
game last weekend , the Italians will know that to win, they need to do 2
things – boss the contact area like England did, by playing with tempo; and kick
somewhere, anywhere, away from Stuart Hogg.
Scotland Team News
Scotland make 2 changes to the side that lost their Calcutta Cup battle last Saturday, with Ross Ford replacing Dougie Hall at hooker , who in turn drops to the bench, should he prove his fitness – if he hasn’t recovered from his knee injury in time, Glasgow's Pat MacArthur will be getting splinters up his backside instead. The other change sees injured blindside Alasdair Strokosch replaced by Rob Harley, who makes his first start for his country having scored on his debut against Samoa last summer. Coach Scott Johnson describes Harley as "physical" and "angry at being a red head", so expect some fireworks from him.
Starting Line up: S
Hogg; S Maitland, S Lamont, M Scott, T Visser; R Jackson, G Laidlaw; R Grant, R
Ford, E Murray, R Gray, J Hamilton, R Harley, K Brown (capt), J Beattie.
Replacements: D
Hall/P MacArthur, M Low, G Cross, A Kellock, D Denton, H Pyrgos, D Weir, M
Evans.
Key Player
Jim Hamilton. Despite
Stuart Hogg performing so well last week, the game was lost up front and this
weekend's match, like 95% of all rugby games, will be won in the same area. Hamilton spent last Saturday's match getting
bossed around by a second row who was 2 inches shorter, 1.4 stones lighter and
9 years younger than him. For a man who
is renowned for being physical, this just wasn't good enough and set the tone
for the entire Scottish performance.
Hamilton will need to get in the faces of the opposition from the off
and get them moving backwards if things are to pick up for the Scots.
Jacques Brunel makes just one change to his starting line
up, with veteran Gonzalo Canale coming in at inside centre for Alberto Sgarbi,
who was injured against France. Canale
is a grizzled and abrasive character who will add some directness to the
Italian midfield, even if he has lost half a yard of pace since his younger
days. Delighted to keep his place is
loosehead prop Andrea Lo Cicero, who will win his 100th cap at Murrayfield.
Starting Line up: A
Masi; G Venditti, T Benvenuti, G Canale, L McLean; L Orquera, T Botes; A Lo
Cicero, L Ghiraldini, M Castrogiovanni, Q Geldenhuys, F Minto, A Zanni, S Favaro,
S Parisse (capt).
Replacements: D
Giazzon, A De Marchi, L Cittadini, A Pavanello, P Derbyshire, E Gori, K Burton,
G Garcia
Key Player
Luciano Orquera. Even though he looks like Fawlty Towers' Manuel (minus the moustache), the Italian 10 was in phenomenal form against France, kicking beautifully and laying on two tries – one through a sharp break and the other through a sublime offload. Despite being written off by many prior to the game as not being up to international standard, he delivered a remarkably composed and intelligent performance. He will need to step it up this week though, as the Scottish pack will be fired up and roared on by a home crowd, and he won't get the armchair ride he got at times against the French; his tactical kicking and ability to get Italy playing in the right areas, as well as keeping the scoreboard ticking over, will come under extra scrutiny.
With two big and aggressive packs, the big match up will
obviously be in this department, and I think the match will go a long way to
being decided by whoever comes out on top between Kelly Brown and Simone
Favaro. The 2 opensides were quietly
effective during their matches last week, with Brown turning over ball on
several occasions to stop the English onslaught, with one snaffle leading to
his team's second try, whilst Favaro was aggressive in the loose against the
French and was a nuisance in slowing their ball down. In a match where momentum will be a key
factor, being able to stop the opposition's will be critical for both sides.
Head to Head
·
Scotland have lost 4 of their last six 6
Nations games against the Azzurri, including a 13 – 6 defeat last year in Rome
·
Italy last won 2 consecutive games in the
tournament back in 2007 – although that was courtesy of a 37 – 17 win at
Murrayfield
·
Scotland have now not won a Six Nations match
since March 2011.
Prediction
I can see this game going either way – but the Italians will
be buoyed by their victory and the Scots are still unsettled under their new
coach. Italy to win a tight game by 4.
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