Key events
Pre-Match reading.
Give me all your thoughts on the match, plus opinions on whether you can use bread flout to make cakes on Email or @bloodandmud.
I’m only half joking with the cake thing.
Teams
Italy finally make an international player of Louis Lynagh, after the Quin wing has finally threw his cap in with the country of his birth. He debuts in a back three with Montanna Ioane and Ange Capuozzo.
Cam Redpath starts for Scotland due to the tournament ending injury for Sione Tuipulotu, there’s also a rare start for George Horne at scrum-half and a starting cap for Saracens flanker, Andy Christie.
Italy: Ange Capuozzo; Louis Lynagh, Juan Ignacio Brex, Tommaso Menoncello, Montanna Ioane; Paolo Garbisi, Martin Page-Relo; Danilo Fischetti, Giacomo Nicotera, Simone Ferrari, Niccolo Cannone, Federico Ruzza, Sebastian Negri, Michele Lamaro, Ross Vintcent.
Replacements: Gianmarco Lucchesi, Mirco Spagnolo, Giosue Zilocchi, Andrea Zambonin, Lorenzo Cannone, Stephen Varney, Leonardo Marin, Federico Mori
Scotland: Blair Kinghorn, Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones, Cameron Redpath, Duhan van der Merwe, Finn Russell (co-capt), George Horne; Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, Zander Fagerson, Grant Gilchrist, Scott Cummings, Andy Christie, Rory Darge (co-capt), Jack Dempsey.
Replacements: Ewan Ashman, Alec Hepburn, Elliot Millar-Mills, Sam Skinner, Jamie Ritchie, Matt Fagerson, Ali Price, Kyle Rowe.
Preamble
A lire for Italy’s thoughts this past fortnight after the ball kissing off the wrong quadrant of a post that became the mighty club, bludgeoning hope of victory from their collective crania v France. Barely have they lashed themselves back together and their reward is to welcome a Scotland set on pressing Ireland to the very end.
The Azzuri remain the most baffling and infuriating team of 2024. Near victors against France, they also somehow pushed England close to the brink in round one. But all the while playing a game that is a combination of dynamism, poor decision making, hands like feet, an occasional monster scrum, an neverending collection of diffident 9s, and a kicking game more inexplicable than Marjorie Taylor Greene. To punctuate your befuddlement further, despite their draw in Lille they are bottom of the table below a Wales team that has lost all three of their matches. I’ve given up trying to make sense of them, to be honest.
Leaving aside their inability to beat France, Scotland are far more sensible – and as their eventually comfortable with over England demonstrated, they appear to be forming into that which we all hoped: the best team that doesn’t play in green. They should win today, and by a lots more that a quadrant of a rugby post.
