Scotland vs Italy, Six Nations 2025: Kick-off time today, TV channel, live stream, team news, lineups, h2h

The hosts’ hopes of winning a archetypal rubric since the last Five Nations rugby run mode backmost successful 1999 person been rocked by the nonaccomplishment of prima skipper Sione Tuipulotu, who volition miss the full tourney with a pectoral musculus wounded suffered successful training.

The fittingness issues are truly biting present for Scotland and are alternatively serving to dampen enthusiasm astir what was expected to beryllium a highly-competitive run from Gregor Townsend’s talented team.

Hoping to exploit that wounded misery this play is an Italy broadside who narrowly bushed the Scots 31-29 past March to grounds their archetypal location Six Nations triumph for six years.

The Azzurri made swift advancement nether caput manager Gonzalo Quesada, denied a daze archetypal triumph successful France by the width of a station earlier seeing disconnected Wales successful the woody spoon decider successful Cardiff, avoiding finishing bottommost of the standings for the archetypal clip successful 9 years.

Although their results for the remainder of the twelvemonth were inconsistent, this Italy squad is packed afloat of endowment and they volition person their sights acceptable connected different attempted propulsion up the table.

Scotland vs Italy is acceptable for a 2:15pm GMT kick-off contiguous connected Saturday February 1, 2025. The lucifer takes spot astatine Murrayfield Stadium successful Edinburgh.

TV channel: The crippled is being shown unrecorded successful the UK free-to-air connected BBC One, with sum opening astatine 1:15pm GMT.

Live stream: Free unrecorded sum is besides disposable online via the BBC Sport website and BBC iPlayer.

There’s simply nary sugarcoating it - Tuipulotu’s wounded is an implicit catastrophe for Scotland and could genuinely beryllium the quality betwixt them producing a imaginable rubric propulsion and simply conscionable making up the numbers.

He is not the lone subordinate Townsend has mislaid for the duration, with the likes of Scott Cummings, Josh Bayliss and Dylan Richardson besides sidelined, positive a big of others including Adam Hastings, Cameron Redpath, Kyle Steyn, Max Williamson, Andy Onyeama-Christie and Ben Muncaster. Finn Russell and Rory Darge are present serving arsenic co-captains.

However, Duhan van der Merwe, Jonny Gray and Grant Gilchrist person each been passed fit, with fastener Gray and hooker Dave Cherry making their archetypal Scotland appearances since 2023.

Jamie Ritchie gets the motion implicit Jack Dempsey successful the backmost row, portion Stafford McDowall partners Huw Jones successful the centres with Tuipulotu out.

For Italy, determination is nary Louis Lynagh aft the erstwhile Harlequins prima underwent genu country this month, though Tommaso Allan has earned a callback and starts astatine full-back with Ange Capuozzo shifting to the wing.

Captain Michele Lamaro returns to the backmost enactment aft a enarthrosis problem, on with Lorenzo Cannone. Simone Ferrari and Giacomo Nicotera travel into the beforehand row. Mirco Spagnolo is suspended and Andrea Zambonin injured, with uncapped prop Luca Rizzoli acceptable for his debut disconnected the bench.

Scotland XV: Kinghorn; Graham, Jones, McDowall, Van der Merwe; Russell (co-c), White; Schoeman, Cherry, Z Fagerson; Gray, Gilchrist; Ritchie, Darge (co-c), M Fagerson

Replacements: Ashman, Sutherland, Hurd, Brown, Dempsey, Horne, Jordan, Rowe

Italy XV: Allan; Capuozzo, Brex, Menoncello, Ioane; P Garbisi, Page-Relo; Fischetti, Nicotera, Ferrari; Lamb, Ruzza; Negri, Lamaro (c), L Cannone

Replacements: Lucchesi, Rizzoli, Riccioni, N Cannone, Zuliani, Vintcent, A Garbisi, Gesi

Italy’s melodramatic triumph successful Rome past twelvemonth ended a tally of 13 consecutive losses against Scotland dating backmost to 2015, erstwhile they past triumphed astatine Murrayfield.

Scotland indispensable rapidly shingle disconnected the tremendous disappointment of Tuipulotu’s injury, though it’s easier said than done - fewer players anyplace successful the Six Nations are arsenic important to their team’s cause.

The mounting fittingness setbacks volition beryllium of expanding interest to Townsend, who volition beryllium looking for sustained consistency from his broadside this twelvemonth aft an yet disappointing fourth-place decorativeness successful 2024 that was followed by a low-key summertime circuit of the Americas and an autumn bid successful which they thrashed Fiji and Portugal and saw disconnected resurgent Australia having been brushed speech by South Africa.

Italy were overmuch improved 12 months ago, though mislaid to Samoa aft that and were thrashed by Argentina, besides lone narrowly squeezing past Georgia aft much convincing wins implicit Tonga and Japan and a 29-11 nonaccomplishment to the All Blacks successful Turin.

It’s inactive hard to cognize astatine times precisely which Azzurri broadside you are going to get connected immoderate fixed day, but successful Juan Ignacio Brex and 2024 Six Nations Player of the Tournament Tommaso Menoncello they boast 1 of planetary rugby’s astir electrical midfield duos, ably supported by the likes of Capuozzo.

We expect Scotland to prevail here, but it mightiness beryllium a close-run contention for agelong stretches earlier the hosts apt propulsion distant precocious connected to footwear disconnected their run with triumph earlier hosting defending champions Ireland successful circular 2 and past going to Twickenham for the latest instalment of the Calcutta Cup rivalry.

Scotland to win, by 10 points.

Odds via Betfair (subject to change).