‘Let’s give Vern good send-off’

SCOTLAND No 8 Ryan Wilson has urged his side to react to the ‘unacceptable’ showing against England, and give Vern Cotter the send-off he deserves. Cotter (pictured) takes charge of his last match for Scotland today and he could still lead them to their highest Championship finish since 1999, if results go their way. And Wilson is sad to see the New Zealander leave. ‘Vern’s a brilliant coach,’ he said. ‘He’s done a lot for this group, and that is going to be a loss for Scottish rugby. ‘What happened last week against England was unacceptable. We’re excited to right the wrongs, go out and put in a good performance. ‘To get three home wins would be a massive thing for us. We’re on track to get that and if we finish second then it will be a successful campaign.’ Scotland received a major boost after full-back Stuart Hogg — who became a father for the second time on Wednesday — was passed fit to play. He had been a doubt after picking up a shoulder injury and a head knock in the defeat to England. Cotter said that he had passed all his graduated return to play protocols and he had no qualms about naming him to play Italy. Tommy Seymour and Ryan Wilson, who also picked up head knocks against England have also been passed fit. Finn Russell, Huw Jones and Richie Gray all passed fitness tests yesterday which allowed Cotter to name them in his starting team, with Gray a late withdrawal as he failed to recover from a hamstring injury. Grant Gilchrist of Edinburgh starts.