Scotland and Italy are both looking to avoid the wooden spoon as they meet on the final day of the Six Nations for the second year in a row. It’s been a fairly miserable tournament for both sides, who have each been let down by a lack of potency in attack.

As the Italian anthem blares out, here are today’s teams…

Italy: 15 Andrea Masi; 14 Giovambattista Venditti, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Gonzalo Canale, 11 Mirco Bergamasco; 10 Kristopher Burton, 9 Edoardo Gori; 1 Andrea Lo Cicero, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 3 Martin Castrogiovannil; 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 5 Marco Bortolami; 6 Alessandro Zanni,  7 Robert Barbieri, 8 Sergio Parisse.

Replacements: 16 Tommaso D’Apice, 17 Lorenzo Cittadini, 18 Joshua Furno, 19 Simone Favaro, 20 Manoa Vosawai, 21 Tobias Botes, 22 Giulio Toniolatti.

Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg; 14 Max Evans, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Sean Lamont; 10 Greig Laidlaw, 9 Mike Blair; 1 John Welsh, 2 Ross Ford (captain), 3 Geoff Cross; 4 Richie Gray, 5 Jim Hamilton; 6 John Barclay, 7 Ross Rennie, 8 David Denton.

Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Euan Murray, 18 Alastair Kellock, 19 Richie Vernon, 20 C Cusiter, 21 Ruaridh Jackson, 22 Jack Cuthbert.

The match has started and Italy’s Gonzalo Canale is immediately in need of treatment after taking a blow to the head.

An old problem has resurfaced for the Scots as they knock on at the line-out. Sloppy. Canale is back on after lengthy treatment.

Italy 3-0 Scotland.The possession is all Italy’s as they advance to the Scottish 22. They eventually squeeze a penalty out of the Scottish defence and Bergamasco lines it up for the first score of the game.

Not like George to be negative regarding Ireland’s prospects.

Oh. Wait.

Anyway, Castrogiovanni takes treatment in Rome in what has been quite a bitty match. Italy are doing their best to be expansive but their reach exceeds their grasp, while one good take for Scotland from Stuart Hogg was wasted with a resulting knock-on.

A penalty for Scotland but it’s too far out for Laidlaw, who goes for the corner instead. It all results in another unforced error from Scotland.

Alain Rolland has told the players that they’re ruining the game for the spectators, and penalty attempts like the one we’ve just seen from Bergamasco. He slices it wide.

Burton attempts a drop goal for Italy but it’s charged down by one of the Scottish players. It would be lovely to have something more interesting to report, like a score of some description.

Amen.

Rolland is still cross, calling the game ‘a mess,’ and he’s right. Nick de Luca causes a flare-up when he chops down Andrea Masi.

Italy 3-3 Scotland. It’s a thriller! Well, not really, but Scotland have finally troubled the scoreboard through a kick from Greig Laidlaw. It didn’t seem to have the legs but somehow crept its way over. They earned it by butchering the hosts at a scrum.

Nick de Luca is sent to the sin-bin for kicking the ball out of the hands of the Italian scrum-half. That was idiotic. Bergamasco’s resulting penalty is worse than the last effort.

Nul points.

Half-Time: Italy 3-3 Scotland, and that’s 40 minutes of my life I’m not… yadda yadda yadda…

Hopefully some kind of epiphany will strike both dressing rooms at the break and we’ll be treated to some actual rugby football. Optimism is the watch-word.

We’re back and hoping for great things. It’s Saint Patrick’s Day, and we’re optimistic by default. Castrogiovanni to Burton to Canale, but the move breaks down in front of the Scotland posts.

Try for Italy! It’s Italy 10-3 Scotland as Bergamasco adds the extras to Giovambattista Venditti’s excellent try. The Azzurri kept turning the screw – with Castrogiovanni in the midst of all their best work – and eventually the ball was worked out to Venditti, who slalomed his way under the post.

After the match restarts, Laidlaw misses a penalty and a chance to reduce the arrears.

Scotland are really hanging on – Kris Burton almost crosses for the hosts before Italy are penalised for a knock-on.

Italy prop Andrea Lo Cicero is replaced to huge applause, Lorenzo Cittadini coming on in his place. This was Lo Cicero’s 95th cap for his country.

Hooky’s still working his Twitter machine, and says, “In 50 years I have not a Scotland team so dominated by a lesser nation.”

Italy 10-6 Scotland. Laidlaw is successful for the second time in the match with a penalty. Italy were penalised at a line-out as Alessando Zanni interferes with Al Kellock.

Mr Sanctimony himself, Alain Rolland, is guilty of inconsistency having yellow-carded Jim Hamilton for a similar offence, but not Zanni.

Zanni is sent to the sidelines by Rolland for going off his feet in a ruck, as Hamilton ends his spell in the sin-bin.

Simone Favaro comes on for Italy after Scotland fail to take advantage of a rare, good field position, allowing Italy to clear easily. The match feels like it’s being played behind closed doors, such is the lack of feeling from the crowd.

A penalty for Scotland at the scrum as Italy are penalised for standing up. It’s inside the Italian 22, so inevitably Scotland waste it.

Italy 13-6 Scotland. On their second half performance alone, it’s a deserved clincher for Italy as fly-half Kris Burton slices over a drop goal. It’s going to be the wooden spoon for Scotland.

The match ends as an anaemic Scotland attack somehow turns into a penalty to Italy, from which they find touch.

Unsurprisingly that was the worst match of the Championship, easily, and Scotland deserve to be pointless after a pointless performance in Rome.

Thanks for following, we’ll be back with Wales v France…