Scotland v Italy Prediction, Tips, & Best Bet – Six Nations

We have a Scotland v Italy prediction for you plus tips as we break down the betting odds, team news and matchups ahead of this opening round Six Nations clash.

How To Watch Scotland v Italy

When is Scotland v Italy

Kick-off is scheduled for 2.15 pm on Saturday, February 1st.

TV Channel

In the UK, BBC One will televise Scotland v Italy.

Live Stream

BBC iPlayer

In Ireland, you can stream Scotland v Italy on RTÉ Player.

Who are the officiating team?

Referee: Karl Dickson (England)

Assistant Referees: Luke Pearce (England), Damian Schneider (Argentina)

TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)

FPRO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)

Where is Scotland v Italy

Murrayfield, Edinburgh will play host to Scotland v Italy in this opening round Six Nations fixture.

Scotland v Italy Odds

Scotland are currently priced at 1/12 to win this game.

Italy are outsiders with odds of 6/1 while the draw is seen as a 33/1 shot.

Early Payout: Win Before the Final Whistle!

With our new 17 Points Ahead Early Payout offer, you no longer have to sweat out every bet until the final whistle blows. Simply back your team, and if they go 17 points up at any point, we’ll settle your bet as a winner – no matter the final score! Available for Singles, Multiples, and Accumulators, both online and in BoyleSports shops.

Match Betting Enhanced

Scotland @ 1/10

Italy @ 7/1

Draw @ 33/1

Handicap Betting

Scotland: -19 @ 10/11

Italy +19 @ 10/11

Handicap Draw: -19 @ 18/1

Team News

Scotland Team News

Italy Team News

Scotland v Italy Preview

Scotland’s Form

Last year Scotland finished the 2024 Six Nations finishing fourth following a record of 2 wins and 3 defeats though one of those victories was a historic 30-21 Calcutta Cup win over England. The second half of their 2024 was largely positive though the quality of opposition was considerably lower with wins over Canada, the USA, Chile and Uruguay during the Summer Internationals.

The Autumn Series was also largely positive, defeating Fiji 57-17 and though they lost 15-32 to South Africa in their remaining fixtures they had a 59-21 win over Portugal and a 27-13 win over Australia. It’s very hard to know what you’re going to get from this Scottish side in any given game.

Head Coach Gregor Townsend has been in charge of Scotland since he was appointed in 2017 and though Scotland remain unpredictable, they’re a match to any side on their day especially at the fortress that is Murrayfield.

Italy’s Form

Italy put on an impressive showing in the 2024 Six Nations Championship only losing to England by 3 points in a 24-27 thriller defeating the Scots 31-29 in another drawing 13-13 against France and beating Wales 21-24. Their only poor showing was a 36-0 defeat to Ireland in their opening game.

During the summer they lost to Samoa but beat Tonga and Japan to continue their strong form and in the Autumn Internationals despite an opening 18-50 loss to Argentina they recovered to beat Georgia 20-17 and only lost 11-29 to New Zealand.

Italian Rugby can no longer be considered as the Six Nations' designated “whipping boys” and have come on leaps and bounds since former Stade Francais coach Gonzalo Quesada was appointed last year.

Scotland v Italy Rugby Head-To-Head

All-Time Head-To-Head Record

Scotland and Italy have played each other at rugby union in 37 matches, with Scotland winning 28 times, Italy winning 9 times and no matches having been drawn.

Head-To-Head Results Last Five Matches

2024: Italy won 31-29 in Stadio Olimpico

2023: Scotland won 25-13 in Murrayfield

2023: Scotland won 26-14 in Murrayfield

2022: Scotland won 22-33 in Murrayfield

2021: Scotland won 52-10  in Murrayfield

Trends

Scotland have won nine of their last ten matches against Italy.

Key Players

Duhan van der Merwe – Scotland

The South African now Scottish International (29) has been nothing short of a rip-roaring success since debuting for the Scots in 2020. He has already amassed a total of 150 points from 44 tests with 30 tries making him the country's all-time leading try scorer.

During last season’s Six Nations, he was exceptional including a hat trick against England and has been cleared to start on Saturday for Scotland.

Tommaso Menoncello – Italy

Italy have become a more competitive force on the Tier 1 Rugby scene in recent seasons in large part to the emergence of many talented young rugby players. One of those players is Benetton Centre/Winger Tommaso Menoncello who despite being only 22 has already amassed 30 points across his 22 Senior tests with Italy.

He is strong, fast with brilliant technique and his talents were awarded the Six Nations Player of the Tournament in 2024 becoming the youngest player to do so at 21.

Scotland v Italy Prediction & Best Bet

Prediction: Scotland 28-12 Italy

Scotland have plenty of talented players but are rather inconsistent in their performances especially when playing away from Murrayfield. Italy beat them at home last year, but I expect the scores to be reversed this time around though a close game could be on the cards.

The Italian's progress has been nothing short of remarkable and it would be brilliant for the competitiveness of the Six Nations if they could replicate or even improve on their performances from the last Championship.

This is no longer the easy game to call that it once was, and I expect Italy to drive Scotland close come the weekend.

Best Bet: Duhan Van Der Merwe Anytime Try @ 4/7

*Prices are subject to fluctuation.

Remember, Always Gamble Responsibly.