Six Nations Championship: Italy v Scotland, Stadio Olimpico, Saturday, 2.15pm (live on Virgin Media One and ITV)
Ali Price is relishing the prospect of winning his 50th cap for Scotland in Rome's Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.
The 28-year-old Glasgow scrumhalf made his international debut against Georgia at Rugby Park in 2016 and is excited about chalking up a landmark appearance against Italy in one of Europe's most storied arenas.
“It’s going to be a special day for me, an incredibly proud moment,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to it.
“I probably haven’t got one standout moment in my Scotland career. Getting my first cap was obviously very special and I’ve had a few big results.
"Winning away to Australia in Sydney (in 2017) was pretty special, France away (in 2021), England away (in 2021). All of those big wins stick out for me but my first cap is probably the most special."
Price loves the whole experience of playing in Rome. “It’s a cool stadium,” he said. “The bus ride there is amazing actually, seeing the sights of Rome and the travelling support, seeing everyone making their way to the ground.
“When you hear the Italian anthem in the stadium it’s full of passion, they’re a passionate nation and you get that from the guys when they sing their anthem to the right of you.
“It can be quite a hostile place to play, especially when they get their tails up and get some energy behind them on the field. A few boys have had that experience and we’ve spoken about that as well, what we can do as a team to nullify that, and create our own energy within that.”
Price is hoping Scotland can ignite in their closing two games of the tournament away to Italy and Ireland as he admitted they have fallen short of expectations so far.
After edging out England in the opening game, they have lost their last two away to Wales and at home to France.
“We’ve not played to our potential in this tournament,” he said. “We got the win in the first weekend but didn’t play particularly well. Then the Wales and France games have been frustrating. We’ve let ourselves down at times, that’s why we’re in the position we’re in now.
“But we’ve really refocused in the two weeks since the France game and now we’ve reviewed our games individually and as a team.
“We looked at Italy at the start of the week to see the challenges they will bring and since then it’s been all about us, focusing on ourselves, and doing what we do well, trying to put that out on the pitch.
“Everyone’s now excited to get out there, express ourselves and get the result.”
ITALY: Edoardo Padovani; Pierre Bruno, Juan Ignacio Brex, Leonardo Marin, Montanna Ioane; Paolo Garbisi, Callum Braley; Danilo Fischetti, Giacomo Nicotera, Pietro Ceccarelli; Niccolo Cannone, Federico Ruzza; Giovanni Pettinelli, Michele Lamaro (capt), Toa Halafihi.
Replacements: Luca Bigi, Ivan Nemer, Giosue Zilocchi, David Sisi, Manuel Zuliani, Alessandro Fusco, Marco Zanon, Ange Capuozzo.
SCOTLAND: Stuart Hogg (capt), Darcy Graham, Chris Harris, Sam Johnson, Kyle Steyn; Finn Russell, Ali Price; Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, Zander Fagerson; Sam Skinner, Grant Gilchrist; Rory Darge, Hamish Watson, Matt Fagerson.
Replacements: Stuart McInally, Allan Dell, WP Nel, Jamie Hodgson, Magnus Bradbury, Ben Vellacott, Adam Hastings, Sione Tuipulotu.
