Scotland's hopes of lifting the championship trophy for the first time in the Six Nations era are slim but still alive, and they need a bonus-point victory over Italy at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday in order to stand a chance of forcing a title decider against Ireland next weekend.
A maximum return would pull the Scots within a point of leaders Ireland, who host Gregor Townsend's men in a week's time. That said, Ireland would sew up the 2024 Six Nations title with a four-try victory over England in Saturday's late game.
Scotland's clash with Italy is a meeting of the anti-France alliance, with both teams stinging from being robbed of victory over Les Bleus by dubious refereeing calls. Scotland would have a perfect record if their game-winning try hadn't been controversially ruled out in Round 2, while Paolo Garbisi should have been allowed to retake his last-gasp penalty that pinged off the upright in Round 3, as he was being charged down illegally.
The Azzurri got a draw at least, which brought to an end their seven-game losing streak in the Six Nations – though a win would have lifted them off the bottom of the pile. But with Duhan van der Merwe and Finn Russell in town, there's no time to dwell on what-ifs.
HOW TO WATCH A FREE ITALY VS SCOTLAND LIVE STREAM ON ITVX
What time is kickoff?
The Italy vs Scotland kickoff is at 2.15pm GMT / 9.15am ET / 6.15am PT on Saturday, March 9. In Australia, that's 1.15am AEDT on Sunday, March 10.
Italy vs Scotland venue
Saturday's game will be played at the 73,261-seater Stadio Olimpico in the Foro Italico sports complex in Rome. The stadium was once called Stadio dei Centomila, when it had the capacity to hold 100,000 fans.
Team news to follow.
