| date: Saturday, March 9th venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome kick off: 14:15 GMT |
| coverage: Follow live text and listen to live commentary from BBC Radio 5 on the BBC Sport website and app. |
It's been 10 years since Dancy 'Meatball' Weir beat down a drop goal in Rome to save us from jail, but the Six Nations game is emblematic of a time when Scotland was a little itchy to watch. Ta.
Ten years on and Scotland are playing enterprising and efficient rugby, regularly winning big matches and sitting second in the Six Nations table.
They have also won 13 consecutive games against Italy.
That said, this is a new Italy under new coach Gonzalo Quesada, who is highly respected, especially in France.
He was an assistant coach with the French national team from 2008 to 2011 and head coach at Racing 92, winning the Top 14 and the European Challenge Cup with Stade Français. Everyone who worked with him absolutely loved him as an operator and as a man.
And you can see the changes he has made to this Italian team. Criticism of Italy under his predecessor, Kieran Crowley, was that they played too deep and made it easy for the opposition to receive the ball from their own third.
Or even if they held the ball and got halfway up the pitch, they were exhausted by the time they got there.
Quesada forced them to evolve. They are becoming more refined in their attack. They impressed against England, then were crushed against Ireland – but hasn't everyone gone this far?
They should have beaten France in Lille. On any other day, Paolo Garbisi would have won that match with his last kick. They were just a ball spilling off the kicking tee, coming off a historic first Six Nations win in France.
In some ways it's disgusting, but in other ways it's inspirational. It would have cheered them up and given them true belief.
Italian rugby is currently experiencing interesting times. The under-20 team lost by one point to the hotly anticipated Ireland in Cork, before defeating France in Béziers. In Italy, there is an increasing number of positive views about the future of the game.
Scotland may have had their best performance against Italy in the Six Nations, but I think it will still be a tough test. I had lunch with former Italy center Michele Campagnaro and he was explaining to me how Saturday's game is a big goal for Italy.
That has always been the case, but especially after the near loss against France and the great performance against England.
This is the best result for an Italian player in a long time. This is a big old Test match for Scotland because they are capable of getting results. They beat Italy, get a bonus point and arrive in Dublin in second place. That's ambition. It's not that people visiting Rome themselves lack motivation.
I'm really proud of what I've seen in the last three games against Scotland, but there's a big bone of contention this time around with Sione Tuipulotu missing.
He was the anchor in midfield and the rock through which Scotland gained time and space to cause their opponents grief. His physical loss and the collapse of the Finn Russell-Tuipulotu-Hugh Jones axis will be felt.
I expect Cameron Redpath to join, but this shows just how strong Scotland's depth is in certain positions. Redpath has a different profile to Tuipulotu, but he is a great player. Although he is less physical, he has the vision and ability to bring it to the gain line.
He's a great, skilled player and has been great off the bench for three games in a row. I enjoyed watching him.
Tradition has it that a trip to Rome could be a banana peel, but that understates the danger of this Italian team, which is top-notch and has great athletes.
And considering our performance at the under-20 level, I think we will continue to grow stronger as a rugby nation. Italy will take part in the U-20 World Cup in South Africa in the summer, but Scotland remain in the second tier and are separated from the top teams.
Good times are coming for Italy, but the question is when will they come? Are they coming to Rome this weekend? Are they planning to use the disappointment of what should have been a win against France to derail Scotland's bid to top the Six Nations?
Gregor Townsend and his players know exactly how difficult this is.
Last season at Murrayfield, Italy were pushing hard for a try that could have won the game in the closing stages, but they were forced into a turnover for Scotland's 22 points, and Blair Kinghorn was substituted in a crucial moment. He ran away and scored a goal at the other end, giving him a small lead. False photos of the scoreboard.
No one in the Scottish camp will have forgotten that.
Scotland will need to do everything possible to win, which to be fair, will be tough. This can be a very exciting game.
Finally, a word about Italian back-rower Jake Polledri, who announced his retirement at the age of 28.
He made his debut against Scotland in 2018 and was a rugby gladiator every day he wore the blue jersey. With his passion and dedication, he must have inspired a younger generation of Italian children.
Although his career ended prematurely and cruelly, he is incredibly proud of what he accomplished. I hope he's there on Saturday. He deserves a round of applause, even if it's a special day for one team or the other.
Johnny Beatty was speaking to BBC Scotland's Tom English
