Italy vs Scotland: Guinness Six Nations 2024 preview, team news, tickets and prediction

Italy, the perennial wooden spoonists of the Guinness Six Nations, face Scotland in round 4 of the competition at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on 9 March 2024, hoping that they can secure another elusive win in the competition.

Since their introduction in 2000, Italy has only managed 13 wins in 120 matches, for a win rate of just 10.8%. Whether they can spring a surprise against a Scotland team that’s shown impressive form so far in the competition remains to be seen.

Scotland certainly will want to maximize this clash against the Italians, particularly with bonus points in mind, seeing as they could make a huge difference at the business end of the competition and going into the final fixture. For that reason, they will want to score four tries as soon as possible. 

Italy’s most recent win against Scotland came back in 2015, but since then, Scotland has dominated their Guinness Six Nations fixtures. That said, of Italy’s 13 wins in the competition, seven have been against Scotland.

Perhaps in front of their home crowd in Rome, they could break their duck, but it would take a monumental effort on their part.

Team News

New Italian coach Gonzalo Quesada will be hoping to have Tommaso Allan, the Perpignan flyhalf, back in contention after he asked to be rested for the clash against France in round 2. Allan is a veteran of the national team, with 79 caps to his name. He has scored 489 points for his country and is a critical part of their overall play.

Other than that, Italy will look to secure enough ball for their talented backline to have a go at Scotland. Expect Allan, if he plays, to punish any Scottish indiscretions in their own half by looking to kick at goal and secure three points whenever possible.

It’s interesting to see what approach Scotland coach Gregor Townsend will take with his squad selection for the encounter. With two weeks of rest since their last Six Nations game, he should opt for his strongest team possible, but bear in mind that Scotland’s final fixture is against Ireland in Dublin the following weekend, so it’s a tough call.

If he does go for his strongest possible team, expect stars like Finn Russell, Duhan van der Merwe, as well as the Fagerson brothers, to start, especially if Scotland are high up the points table and within striking distance of the Irish. 

Scotland will keep to their strengths, secure decent ball and look to snap up four tries and secure a bonus point. Russell is the perfect playmaker to help them do that and any decent possession Scotland get will see him running the show. 

Italy squad for the 2024 Guinness Six Nations

Forwards: Pietro Ceccarelli (Perpignan), Danilo Fischetti (Zebre Parma), Matteo Nocera (Zebre Parma), Luca Rizzoli (Zebre Parma), Mirco Spagnolo (Benetton Rugby), Giosuè Zilocchi (Benetton Rugby), Gianmarco Lucchesi (Benetton Rugby), Marco Manfredi (Zebre Parma), Giacomo Nicotera (Benetton Rugby), Niccolò Cannone (Benetton Rugby), Edoardo Iachizzi (Benetton Rugby), Federico Ruzza (Benetton Rugby), Andrea Zambonin (Zebre Parma), Lorenzo Cannone (Benetton Rugby), Riccardo Favretto (Benetton Rugby), Alessandro Izekor (Benetton Rugby), Michele Lamaro (Benetton Rugby), Sebastian Negri (Benetton Rugby), Ross Vintcent (Exeter), Manuel Zuliani (Benetton Rugby).

Backs: Alessandro Garbisi (Benetton Rugby), Martin Page-Relo (Lyon), Stephen Varney (Gloucester), Tommaso Allan (Perpignan), Paolo Garbisi (Montpellier), Juan Ignacio Brex (Benetton Rugby), Tommaso Menoncello (Benetton Rugby), Federico Mori (Bayonne), Marco Zanon (Benetton Rugby), Pierre Bruno (Zebre Parma), Ange Capuozzo (Toulouse), Monty Ioane (Lyon), Simone Gesi (Zebre Parma), Lorenzo Pani (Zebre Parma).

Scotland squad for the 2024 Guinness Six Nations

Forwards: Ewan Ashman (Edinburgh Rugby) Josh Bayliss (Bath Rugby), Jamie Bhatti (Glasgow Warriors), Andy Christie (Saracens), Luke Crosbie (Edinburgh Rugby), Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors), Jack Dempsey (Glasgow Warriors), Rory Darge (Glasgow Warriors), Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh Rugby), Richie Gray(Glasgow Warriors), Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors), Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors), Alec Hepburn (Exeter Chiefs), Will Hurd (Leicester Tigers), Johnny Matthews (Glasgow Warriors), WP Nel (Edinburgh Rugby), Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh Rugby), Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby), Sam Skinner (Edinburgh Rugby), George Turner (Glasgow Warriors), Glen Young (Edinburgh).

Backs: Adam Hastings (Gloucester Rugby), Ben Healy (Edinburgh Rugby), George Horne (Glasgow Warriors), Darcy Graham (Edinburgh Rugby), Rory Hutchinson (Northampton Saints), Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors), Blair Kinghorn (Toulouse), Stafford McDowall (Glasgow Warriors), Harry Paterson (Edinburgh Rugby), Ali Price (Edinburgh Rugby), Cameron Redpath (Bath Rugby), Arron Reed (Sale Sharks), Kyle Rowe (Glasgow Warriors), Finn Russell (Bath Rugby), Kyle Steyn (Glasgow Warriors), Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors), Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby), Ben White (Toulon).

Match Tickets

The biggest stadium in Rome and the second-biggest in all of Italy, Stadio Olimpico holds close to 71,000 fans.

Securing Italy vs Scotland tickets shouldn’t be a problem if you act quickly, with some still available in various parts of the stadium. Tickets are available at a range of prices and on various sites online, including TicketOne, the official ticket site for this fixture.

The Italians are passionate about their rugby, so don’t wait until the last minute if you’d like to attend the event. If that’s the case, your best bet for finding a ticket could be to try one of the reseller sites online.

While this isn’t one of the premier matches in the Guinness Six Nations, you can expect a filled stadium come game time, and passionate Italians hoping for a underdog win.
Prediction
Italy certainly won’t be pushovers at home, and you can expect them to come out all guns blazing, particularly in the first 20 minutes of the encounter.

That’s exactly what they did to England on the opening weekend of the Guinness Six Nations. Back then, however, the accurate boot of George Ford, the English flyhalf, kept the visitors in the game, allowing them to douse the Italian fire and eventually secure the win.

It will be much the same in this clash, with Italy holding their own at the start, perhaps even taking the lead, but ultimately, Scotland simply has too much firepower.

From Finn Russell pulling the strings at flyhalf to the strike power of winger Duhan van der Merwe out wide, as well as the creativity offered by Huw Jones in the midfield, Scotland will easily win this one, and by at least 15 points or more.

Italy 12-33 Scotland