RUNNING GAME WILL BE THE KEY TO VICTORY

THERE is an air of expectation around this Scotland team nowadays and I believe they can handle that by defeating Italy this afternoon.

It was a similar story last time out when we were strongly fancied to beat England and recovered from a slow start to win with a bit to spare.

Italy will be no pushovers, of course, given the strength of their line-up and their recent performances.

They used to make no secret of the fact that Scotland was the fixture they were targeting each year, especially at home as I found to my cost once or twice.

So there’s no massive fear factor for them around this game. Scotland, though, haven’t lost in Rome since 2012 and it is no surprise that the bookmakers have us as heavy favourites to land another win and, hopefully, keep things rolling on to the final game in Dublin next weekend.

You have to say that Italy have been unlucky so far in this campaign, coming within three points of beating England and then the width of a post of doing the same against France.

The Stadio Olimpico is heading for a sell-out which shows the Italian public are buying into this fresh start under new head coach Gonzalo Quesada after a disappointing World Cup.

Quesada has handed a debut to Louis Lynagh, son of Wallabies legend Michael, for this one while the return of Tommaso Menoncello and Sebastian Negri from injury will also strengthen an Azzurri line-up that always plays with passion and commitment, especially in front of their own fans.

Quesada comes across as an impressive operator and their Under-18 and Under-20 sides are very strong and bursting with potential so the future looks bright for Italian rugby.

Scotland are weakened without the injured Sione Tuipulotu but overall they should feel confident that they have enough to quell the Italian threat and put another win on the board.

We have to stay clear of making it a dog fight that would allow Italy to stay in the game and cause us problems. We need to play a controlled game for 80 minutes and doing so should deliver another victory.

George Horne’s inclusion at scrumhalf seems a sign of intent of how we’re going to play. He is a lethal attacking threat who runs exceptional support lines and gets himself regularly on the inside to take the final pass. That’s his super strength compared to someone like Ben White who is an excellent box kicker. Horne getting the start says to me that Scotland plan on running the ball which should be exciting to see.

Andy Christie gets his first start which is well merited although Jamie Ritchie is unfortunate to again be rotated out of the side. A 6-2 bench also suggests we’re expecting a battle and need to be able to challenge them up front. It’s shaping up to be an exciting encounter and I expect Scotland to again show their mettle and land another big win.