Sione Tuipulotu may not have played in Scotland's loss away to Italy two years ago, but he's under no illusions as to the scars that were left that day.
The full-time scenes at the Stadio Olimpico two years ago remain fresh in the memory.
Italy players and fans cheered and wept and basked in the glory of a first Six Nations home victory since 2013.
The Scotland players were left wondering how they had managed to squander a healthy 12-point lead to lose, and to reflect on another campaign that was dead in the water long before its conclusion.
Sione Tuipulotu was not on the field that day in Rome in 2024, but he knows enough about the scars left and the dangers awaiting Scotland in the Eternal City on the opening weekend of this Six Nations.
"A passionate one," said the Scotland captain when asked what sort of challenge Italy will pose.
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"They're here in front of their people. I'm not expecting them to be short of any motivation. They've shown amazing growth over the last couple of years in this competition and they're a team that's really respected, especially at home.
"We're no different. We're going to treat them really seriously and we've been preparing that way.
"When you get out here and the crowd starts getting on top of you, which I'm sure there'll be points of on Saturday, we've got to show where we've grown in those particular parts. They're the challenges.
"When you come away from home, you're probably battling more than just what's happening on the field. There's the stadium around you and a lot of passionate home support. We're really excited, though, to take our game on the road."
'I'll back new back three as much as I can'
It has been quite some time since Scotland had an easy day against the Italians. Last season the Scots had one of their trademark wobbles at Murrayfield, going from the comfort of 14-0 up to 19-19. They gathered themselves that day to win by 12 points.
We know all about Rome last time around, and in 2023 in Edinburgh, Italy had a scrum on the shadow of the Scottish posts in the dying minutes while trailing by only five points.
The Scots escaped from that sticky spot too, turning the ball over and going the distance for a score in the final play to put some gloss on the score.
The final try was the third of a Blair Kinghorn hat-trick. In fact, he has bagged three tries on two separate occasions against the Azzurri, but that personal record did not save him from being axed from the matchday 23 this time around.
The established back three trio of Kinghorn, Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe have been usurped by the fine form of Tom Jordan, Jamie Dobie and Kyle Steyn.
Some bold calls from head coach Gregor Townsend, but it speaks to the strength Scotland have in that area that they are able to leave three British and Irish Lions out of the starting XV. Only Graham will get the chance to make an impact from the bench.
"At least since I've been around, those three have been playing in most of the games that I've played for Scotland so I think it's going to be a little bit different out there," Tuipulotu said.
"But we've trained together over the past couple of weeks and I play Glasgow week in, week out. This time Kyle and Dobie have been given the opportunity to wear those positions, and Tommy Jordan.
"I'll back them as much as I can, and I believe in them wholeheartedly, and I know what they can do in big games, and this is a big game for us on Saturday."
Category: General Sports
