Adam Williams presents his prediction for the Six Nations Championship match.
Scotland enter this fixture as clear favourites, especially with home advantage, but with key injuries affecting their squad, a straightforward victory is far from guaranteed.
Scotland
Scotland face a wave of injuries heading into the Six Nations opener. Sione Tuipulotu, Scott Cummings, Dylan Richardson, and Josh Bayliss are all unavailable at least for the start of the tournament. As a result, Gregor Townsend has had to call up reinforcements from France’s second division. On the bright side, Duhan van der Merwe is fit, which is a huge boost—he scored five tries in last year’s tournament.
Italy
Italy produced their best-ever Six Nations campaign last year, marking the first time since joining the competition in 2000 that they lost fewer than three matches. They also avoided finishing bottom for the first time since 2015. Their most remarkable performance came in a draw against France (13:13) in Lille, where a missed kick cost them a famous victory.
Scotland vs Italy Prediction
With Scotland forced into experimental selections, a huge margin of victory is unlikely. Italy have improved significantly over the past year, and in the last four meetings in Edinburgh, Scotland's largest winning margin was 12 points. Expect a competitive game, with Italy staying within the spread.
