Visser: Scotland must conquer Rome

SCOTLAND wing Tim Visser has admitted they must beat Italy tomorrow if they are to stand any chance of salvaging their RBS 6 Nations campaign. Vern Cotter’s team travel to Rome desperate to breath life into their crumbling Championship following nine successive defeats that have raised fresh questions about the coach’s leadership, particularly after last year’s whitewash. This time round they have lost to England and Wales. But Harlequins flyer Visser, who has shaken off a hamstring strain to play his first game in the tournament, thinks victory could spark a Scotland revival. ‘It’s so important we come back from Rome with a win,’ said Visser. ‘For us, this is make or break for the Six Nations. This is the game where we can put ourselves in a good position to move forward.’ Visser admitted he was at a loss to explain why the buzz produced by the Scots’ display during the World Cup has not lasted longer. ‘It’s hard to say,’ said the 28year-old. ‘We’ve missed out on crucial points at crucial stages. Looking back at the Wales match, if Hoggy (fullback Stuart Hogg) hadn’t gone off injured or we had sneaked another try in that crucial period just before they scored a second, that might have made the difference.’ Cotter admitted his side are desperate to end their losing streak but did his best not to hype it as a woodenspoon decider. ‘This team will win at some stage because of their determination within. They are proud players. If we tick our boxes around the contact area, get the scrum and line-out working well and defend when we need to then we have shown we can be dangerous once we get our hands on the ball.’

ITALY: Odiete; Sarto, Campagnaro, Garcia, Bellini; Haimona, Gori; Lovotti, Ghiraldini, Cittadini; Fuser, Furno; Minto, Parisse (capt), Zanni.

Subs: Giazzon, Zanusso, Castrogiovanni, Bernabo, Van Schalkwyk, Palazzani, Padovani, Pratichetti.

SCOTLAND: Hogg; Seymour, Bennett, Taylor, Visser; Russell, Laidlaw (capt); Dickinson, Ford, Nel; R Gray, J Gray; Barclay, Denton, Hardie.

Subs: McInally; Sutherland, Low, Swinson, Wilson, Hidalgo-Clyne, Horne, Lamont.