Fagerson: Italian job can atone for woe Calcutta
ZANDER FAGERSON is confident Scotland can bounce back from the weekend’s humiliation by England and end the Six Nations on a high with a win against Italy.
Despite that 61-21 defeat at Twickenham, the Scots still have a chance of coming second in the final table – and a third win of the campaign would be their best performance in the Championship in more than a decade
“It was a tough one to take,” the Glasgow Warriors forward said yesterday about that defeat at Twickenham.
“We didn’t turn up. We’ve now got a chance to redeem ourselves next weekend. We’re looking forward to that. We’ll review it today and move on.
The squad met up in Edinburgh yesterday and were due to have an analysis session on the Calcutta Cup match, which saw them equal their biggest losing margin in the history of a fixture that began way back in 1871.
After that session, Fagerson said, they would put that game behind them and concentrate on playing Italy, who have lost their four matches so far.
“With any l oss, it doesn’t matter what the margin is, you’ve got to learn from it.
“We viewed [the international season] as eight games. We had the autumn series and then the Six Nations. We’ve done quite well in some games. We owe it to ourselves and the fans to go out on a high.
A bonus-point win for Scotland against Italy would be enough for second place if England beat Ireland and Wales beat France without a bonus
Meanwhile, Fagerson’s Warriors team-mate Fraser Brown will find out today if he is free to play against Italy after being cited for the late and dangerous tackle that saw him yellow-carded in the second minute of the England game.
A three-person disciplinary panel will meet in London to decide whether that punishment is enough or whether he should be suspended as well.
Mark Bennett has already been ruled out of Saturday’s game because of injury, while a decision will be taken later on Stuart Hogg, Tommy Seymour and Ryan Wilson after the three Warriors players took head knocks.