Scotland haven’t become a bad team overnight but are wary of wounded Italy, says No 8 Magnus Bradbury

Back-to-back defeats by Wales and France extinguished any hopes Scotland may have had of challenging for the Six Nations title but Magnus Bradbury believes the squad’s confidence remains intact, despite the criticism that followed.

The bruising nature of last weekend’s 36-17 loss at the hands of the French was particularly tough to take as Fabien Galthie’s side ran away with the match in the second half.

It was the first time Scotland had conceded six tries under Gregor Townsend and they must now try to repair the damage in time for this Saturday’s game in Rome against Italy.

Asked if the France defeat had shaken the confidence of the squad, Bradbury said: “It’s hard to put that into words to be honest. It’s not necessarily checked the confidence because we know we haven’t become a bad team overnight. That result hasn’t changed that.

“We know ourselves that if we get things right we can put teams away but on the flipside if we get it wrong we can struggle at times, as any nation would.

“Things obviously didn’t go right in that game for 80 minutes and that’s why the result looked the way it did in the end.

“We know the repercussions of losing to France. But, for me, it’s one game at a time. We’ll do everything we can to win the [Italy] game.

“It will be the same the week after against Ireland. We need to do all we can to finish the championship on a high.”

Italy’s long, long wait for a win in the Six Nations - seven years and counting - has left rivals especially wary of being the side responsible for ending the streak. Historically, Scotland have been the team against whom the Azzurri have enjoyed most success. Seven of their 12 Six Nations wins have been at the expense of the Scots and there will certainly be no