GREIG Laidlaw has insisted that Scotland can still have a say in the outcome of this year’s Six Nations Championship - provided they end a nine-match losing streak in the tournament and beat Italy in Rome on Saturday.

The Scots are not masters of their own destiny following their defeats by England and Wales, and could only become title contenders if they win their remaining games and other results go their way. But Laidlaw, the national team’s scrum-half and captain, remains upbeat about their chances.

“There’s a lot riding on the game and we understand that,” he said yesterday. “The good thing is there’s three games to go, and if we can get a positive performance that brings us that win, return home to Murrayfield after a week off against France.

“The tournament’s tight. There’s nobody really that far ahead, I don’t think, so there you go.”

France and England are the only teams who can win a Grand Slam, having won their first two games, but the French have a difficult match in Wales on Friday night. England are at home to Ireland on Saturday.

Italy, like Scotland, have lost their first two games, so this weekend’s match is being billed as a Wooden Spoon decider. But Laidlaw said that, despite that long losing streak, he and his team-mates remained confident they could go from strength to strength once they got that elusive win.

“We’re not far away, and need to keep performing well,” he added. “I think we’re playing with confidence, we’re playing well - we simply need to squeeze a little bit more out of each other to get over the line.”