It has been quite some time since Scotland had an easy day against the Italians. Last season the Scots had one of their trademark wobbles at Murrayfield, going from the comfort of 14-0 up to 19-19. They gathered themselves that day to win by 12 points.
We know all about Rome last time around, and in 2023 in Edinburgh, Italy had a scrum in the shadow of the Scottish posts in the dying minutes while trailing by only five points.
The Scots escaped from that sticky spot too, turning the ball over and going the distance for a score in the final play to put some gloss on the score.
The final try was the third of a Blair Kinghorn hat-trick. In fact, he has bagged three tries on two separate occasions against the Azzurri, but that personal record did not save him from being axed from the matchday 23 this time around.
The established back three trio of Kinghorn, Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe have been usurped by the fine form of Tom Jordan, Jamie Dobie and Kyle Steyn.
Some bold calls from head coach Gregor Townsend, but it speaks to the strength Scotland have in that area that they are able to leave three British and Irish Lions out of the starting XV. Only Graham will get the chance to make an impact from the bench.
“At least since I’ve been around, those three have been playing in most of the games that I’ve played for Scotland so I think it’s going to be a little bit different out there,” Tuipulotu said.
“But we’ve trained together over the past couple of weeks and I play Glasgow week in, week out. This time Kyle and Dobie have been given the opportunity to wear those positions, and Tommy Jordan.
“I’ll back them as much as I can, and I believe in them wholeheartedly, and I know what they can do in big games, and this is a big game for us on Saturday.”
