Ex-Howe of Fife scrum-half George Horne to get first start for Scotland since 2019

The 28-year-old was on the bench for the Scots’ opening 27-26 win in Wales on Saturday, February 3, coming on as a 70th-minute replacement for Ben White, and the same went, though seven minutes earlier, for their 30-21 Calcutta Cup win hosting England at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium on Saturday, February 24, sandwiching a shift as an unused substitute for their 20-16 home loss to France on Saturday, February 10.

This weekend’s match at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, with kick-off at 2.15pm, will be the first time he’s been handed his country’s No 9 jersey since the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, despite having scored three tries during a 61-0 win against Russia in Shizuoka, alongside his elder brother and fellow ex-Howe player Peter, that time round.

Dundee-born Horne, at Glasgow Warriors since 2015, is joined by two other ex-Howe players in head coach Gregor Townsend’s 23-strong match-day squad, Edinburgh flanker Jamie Ritchie and Warriors No 8 Matt Fagerson, both named as replacements.

Fagerson, 25, started against Wales and France, with Ritchie, 27, alongside him in Cardiff, and Ritchie also started against the English.

Horne is currently on 28 caps, Ritchie on 48 and Fagerson on 42.

This weekend’s match is Scotland’s second last of the championship and they go into that two-game run-in sitting second to the Irish in the standings, with nine points from three fixtures, six points off top spot and six better off than the bottom-of-the-table Italians.

The Scots have won their last 13 games against Italy, last losing to them in 2015’s Six Nations, by 22-19 at Murrayfield, with Peter Horne, 34, playing at fly-half that day.

Joining the younger Horne in this weekend’s starting line-up, co-captained by Finn Russell and Rory Darge, are Blair Kinghorn, Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones, Cameron Redpath, Duhan van der Merwe, Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, Zander Fagerson, Grant Gilchrist, Scott Cummings, Andy Christie and Jack Dempsey.

Alongside Ritchie and the younger Fagerson on the substitutes’ bench are Ewan Ashman, Alec Hepburn, Elliot Millar-Mills, Sam Skinner, Ali Price and Kyle Rowe.

Explaining his selection for round five of the championship, Townsend, 50, said: “Both George and Ali have been in very good form with us and with their clubs and it’s to give Ben a rest as he’s played a lot of rugby since September, so we feel he needs a recharge this week, but we’re also looking forward to seeing George get a start.

“We want Jamie and Matt to really contribute to the team’s performance.

“It’s a really big test for us. Playing in Italy is always a challenge.

“The atmosphere and passion the Italians bring are unique in world rugby.

“Italy have been building over the last two years and put in some great performances.

“They know this will be a massive opportunity, being back at home for the last time in the Six Nations.”