((Live Sport<<<))*!!Scotland vs Italy Live!Six Nations Rugby 2023
The final round of the 2023 Six Nations kicks off at Murrayfield on Saturday as Scotland welcome Italy to Edinburgh.
Scotland will want to end what has been a largely positive Six Nations with a victory when they host Italy this Saturday afternoon.
The Scottish have suffered back-to-back defeats at the hands of France and Ireland, but this is not a fair reflection of their tournament. The team has had one of its best performances in recent years, and Gregor Townsend hopes his side ends on a high in Edinburgh.
Scotland vs Italy prediction
Italy will come into this weekend’s game facing the very real possibility that they will take home an eighth consecutive Wooden Spoon.
The Italians came out on the losing end of the battle between themselves and fellow bottom-dwellers Wales last weekend, and they will not be optimistic about causing an upset on Saturday. Despite strong showings against France and England in their early games, the Italians have only registered a single bonus point this Championship.
Gregor Townsend has made four changes to his side ahead of the game. Blair Kinghorn, Sam Skinner, and Ollie Smith replace the injured Stuart Hogg, Finn Russell and Richie Gray, while Hamish Watson returns to the side ahead of Matt Fagerson.
Kieran Crowley has also made a quartet of changes, with Simone Gesi making his Italy debut, Alessandro Fusco making his first start this Championship, and Edoardo Iachizzi and Marco Riccioni both returning.
While bottom of the table, the Italians have still shown flashes of brilliance during the Championship. The Scots will remember the Italian’s upset over Wales on the closing day of last year’s Championship and be keen to avoid a banana skin.
The bookies are backing the Scottish to finish with a win at odds of 1/9, while Italy are out at 6/1 to pull off the upset and finish the Championship with a solitary win.