FINAL FLOURISH
Barclay says Scots must sign off with win in Rome
JOHN BARCLAY admits Scotland simply must win today against Italy as they bring their Six Nations campaign to a close in Rome.
Depending on results elsewhere, the Scots could finish anywhere between second and fifth in the final standings, with Grand Slam-chasing Ireland already crowned champions.
However, skipper Barclay believes the very least Gregor Townsend’s men must do is sign off with what would be their third win of the tournament.
That in itself would be considered progress, as the Scots have never won three Six Nations matches in successive Championships.
‘We have to finish our championship on a high in Italy — that’s the only thing that matters now,’ said Barclay. ‘We need to win as it’s the last game, so if we lose it leaves a sour taste.
‘To go away from camp having done some good stuff and not winning would be disappointing.
‘We beat Australia and then lost to Fiji in our last match of our last summer tour, so we went away with a bad taste in the mouth then. Nobody wants to have that on Saturday after our final game.
‘Our aim is to finish three from five in the Six Nations, like we did last year. Three from five we could walk away
thinking we have played some good rugby and things are progressing. ‘We are certainly not looking at losing this. We are looking to win the game. We have to rock up with the right mindset, the right attitude and look to finish well. ‘Progress-wise, if we beat Italy then it would be the first time we’ve ever managed three wins in the championship in back-to-back Six Nations seasons and that will continue showing we are heading in the right direction. ‘We have a mountain of work to do to get to that point, but it’s a driving force and winning in Rome would represent progress.’ Barclay insisted their standards had to be high to have a chance of beating what is a motivated Italy side, despite the fact they are heading for the Wooden Spoon. ‘They are going to come out fully pumped up for the game,’ said the back-row forward. ‘Scotland, more than any other team in the Six Nations, know what a handful they can be. If we give them momentum, they can cause us trouble. ‘They’re dangerous at home and they will be looking at Scotland’s history in Rome, which isn’t great. ‘There’s no doubt in my mind that they believe they can turn us over. We’ll be ready for that.’ Barclay also paid tribute to Italian counterpart Sergio Parisse, who claimed this was going to be the best Scotland team he had faced since he won the first of his 133 caps back in 2002. ‘For us, they are a team that is no longer the Scotland team of five, six years ago who were the team for us to beat,’ said Parisse. ‘This is a big challenge for us and the most difficult game we’ve had at home.’ Barclay added: ‘Sergio is one of the best ever. He’s a quality player. He’s still motivated and is someone we need to keep an eye on.’