By Country / Italy

Argentina (12) 12
Pens: Hernandez 2, Bosch 2

Italy (3) 13
Try: Ghiraldini Con: Marcato Pens: Marcato 2

Leonardo Ghiraldini's last gasp converted try scored the Italians a dramatic 13-12 victory over Argentina.

The hooker powered over after several patient surges from the barbaric Azzurri pack, from which Andrea Marcato duly stepped up to seal the sundries and spark emotional celebrations for a gallant Italy outfit.

Bad news for Juan Martin Hernandez after the fly-half broke his wrist that rules him out for a month, but this is the latest setback for the Pumas under new coach Santiago Phelan, who must be gazing earnestly onto the horizon for when the rocky road with life after Loffreda will smooth out.

What a difference a decade makes. Ten years ago, these two sides would've been meat and drink for the big boys. Skills levels resembling a half-decent club side at best, structure and discipline not even registering on the minds of the players, and today's stars not even on our radar.

Saturday's clash in Cordoba showcases the two most improved sides in the world. Organised, passionate and no longer the whipping boys. If Italy have their way, the game will be bossed around an efficient set-piece and pivoting around the exceptional talents of captain Sergio Parisse.

Everyone wants him but we're the only one's that can have him - that's what Nick Mallett thinks of the influential Italian skipper Parisse, who bolsters the Italian pack after returning from a disappointing end to his club commitments.

Stade Francais' semi-final anguish means Parisse alongside both Bergamasco brothers, Mauro and Mirco join up with their international teammates as the Azzurri aim to improve on last weekend's comfortable defeat in Cape Town.

There will be a trio of Top 14 based boys wearing the blue & white hoops with Juan Martin Hernandez, Rodrigo Roncero and Marcelo Bosch joining their Italian club colleagues on the flight to Cordoba.

Felipe Contepomi's omission is a shock, especially considering his end of season form for Magners League champions, Leinster while the Guinness Premiership trio of Marcos Ayerza and the Fernandez Lobbe brothers, Juan and Ignacio drop out of the squad entirely.

If Hernandez displays all of his magic and the forwards give him a sufficient platform to work from then the nightmares haunting the Pumas following a gutting defeat to Scotland will be exonerated.

Italy meanwhile need to stick to what they're good at. Working tight around the fringes, keeping their shape whilst making the short yards and hoping Luke McLean orchestrates them into fruitful territory. First they must shake off the jet-lag.

Argentina: 15 Bernardo Stortoni, 14 Lucas Borges, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Miguel Avramovic, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martín Hernández, 9 Nicolás Vergallo, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 7 Álvaro Galindo, 6 Martín Durand, 5 Esteban Lozada, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Gómez, 2 Álvaro Tejeda, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements: 16 Pablo Gambarini, 17 Pedro Ledesma, 18 James Stuart, 19 Alejandro Campos, 20 Alfredo Lalanne, 21 Federico Martín Aramburu, 22 Hernán Senillosa.

Italy: 15 Andrea Marcato, 14 Kaine Robertson, 13 Mirco Bergamasco, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Matteo Pratichetti, 10 Luke McLean, 9 Simon Picone, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Josh Sole, 5 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 4 Santiago Dellape, 3 Carlos Nieto, 2 Fabio Ongaro, 1 Ignacio Rouyet.
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Alex Moreno, 18 Tommaso Reato, 19 Alessandro Zanni, 20 Pablo Canavosio, 21 Enrico Patrizio, 22 Riccardo Pavan/Jaco Erasmus.

Martin Castrogiovanni is set for six months on the sickbed after undergoing surgery on an injured shoulder.

Last season's Guinness Premiership Player of the Season will be out for 8-10 weeks but the Italian giant is also nursing a groin injury, so if both fails to heal properly, 'Castro' might not be seen in a Leicester Tigers shirt until November.

Italy 23-20 Scotland

Italy: Tries: Penalty G Canale Cons: A Marcato (2) Pens: A Marcato (2) Drops: A Marcato
Scotland: Tries: A Hogg M Blair Cons: C Paterson (2) Pens: C Paterson D Parks

It may not have been the championship or the aversion of the wooden spoon, but from the rapturous reception that celebrated Andrea Marcato’s match-winning drop-goal you could’ve been forgiven for thinking different.

The full-back’s last minute boot secured a teary Nick Mallett’s first Italian triumph since taking the reigns in 2008 while prop Salvatore Perugini decided the best way to display his emotion would be to strip down to his pants.

The draw would’ve probably been a fair result to a fiercely contested yet error strewn tussle, but no one could doubt Italy’s commitment and endeavour in this year’s tournament as if there was an award for biggest effort, then the Azzurri would have won themselves a first trophy by some distance.

Had it not been for Dan Parks wild and wayward skills with ball in hand then Scotland would’ve had the match wrapped up by 60 minutes, but the one-trick kicking pony may as well have been wearing white given the clinical distribution of the fly-half that assisted both of Italy’s tries.

Parks fizzed a hazy miss-pass into midfield that led to the penalty try after first some tidy work from Kaine Robertson and enforcing power from the Italian scrum.

Allister Hogg got on the end of a stunning string of passes to double Scotland’s tournament try tally and when Mike Blair skipped through a gaping hole in Italy’s tiring defence on the stroke of half-time, the tartan-army found themselves seven points ahead at the break.

But with Scotland in control and seemingly on the brink of recording back-to-back wins, Parks again showed Scotland’s fragility in attack as Sergio Parisse galloped onto his second interception. The Italian No.8 powered his way into Scottish territory and with Chris Paterson desperately trying to close him down, Parisse intelligently passed infield for Gonzalo Canale to gather and run in under the posts.

Paterson and Marcato traded penalties and with time running out the shaggy haired replacement prop Carlos Nieto burst up the middle leaving Italy deep in the Scotland twenty-two and Marcato the simplest of chances for his crowning moment as Italy’s most improved player.

The sobering thought is, Italy still finished bottom of the table and cursed wooden spoonists, not that Mallett or his squad will care because they have progressed since their awful September in France.

Scotland and Italy occupy up their perennial losers seats in the RBS 6 Nations table and the two starving nations will battle over the silver cutlery with the losers having to settle for a wooden spoon.

Unlike Rome, a city of plentiful beauty and fashionable population, the rugby will be an ugly feast of smash & grab ball carrying played out by a bunch of bruisers topping the menu.

Scotland may have won the Calcutta Cup based on a resilience, guts and passion and a marginally better kicking game than England, but Italy have style and ambition despite not being able to always execute their ideas.

Frank Hadden will be devastated that the weather forecast predicts sunshine with a slight southerly wind. He would much rather prefer it to be hammering it down with a ferociously blowing northern gale - anything to mask his team's inferiority complex when it comes to scoring tries.

Scotland cannot continue their barren spell of scoring for much longer or else the players will start believing they are cursed and have to give up wearing kilts and sporting constant frowns.

Italy haven't faired much better but they have an excuse in Andrea Masi who is only playing his fifth game at fly-half and hasn't quite grasped that there is a life outside the centre pairing just yet.

In Sergio Parisse and Martin Castrogiovanni they have two brutes that would easily fit into any World XV even if they struggle to find a comfortable jersey to slip into.

If Italy avoid the dreaded wooden spoon, it will represent a successful tournament barring the demolition suffered in Cardiff, and a five point victory is well within their grasp, especially as they have props who can even score tries.

Scotland will settle for a couple of notches on the scoreboard from Chris Paterson, but if they play for penalties then the Azzurri will trample all over them as their forwards have slightly more upstairs and piles more endeavor.

Prediction: Italy to win by eight points.

Date: Saturday, 15 March
Venue: Stadio Flaminio, Rome
Kick-off: 14:00 (13:00 GMT)