HE may not be admitting it publicly, but Gregor Townsend knows just how much pressure he is under when his side travel to Rome this weekend to face Italy in the third round of the Six Nations.

Scotland have lost both their opening fixtures of the tournament so far, against Ireland and England, and so their trip to Rome in now a must-win fixture.

Townsend has made three changes to his starting fifteen from the side that lined-up against England, with Stuart McInally coming in at hooker, Ben Toolis in the second-row and Gloucester centre Chris Harris promoted from the bench for the trio’s first starts of the 2020 campaign.

McInally swaps places with Glasgow Warriors’ Fraser Brown, who moves to the bench, and Toolis comes in for the injured Jonny Gray, while Harris is picked in favour of Huw Jones, who drops out of the match-day 23 entirely.

Townsend is quick to dismiss any talk of him being under pressure, even though a loss this weekend would put his position as head coach under immense threat.

“I’m feeling good,” he said.

“I enjoy coaching the group. We had a really good session on Tuesday and I see the team coming together during the week.

“I felt the same way when we played Ireland so I’m looking forward to seeing them at the weekend.”

Italy haven’t beaten Scotland in their past seven attempts but Scotland’s current Six Nations form is not much better having won only one in their last seven, their single victory coming against the Italians at Murrayfield last year.

Scotland’s last trip to Rome two years ago resulted in a last-minute victory and so Townsend is well aware that Franco Smith’s side will be gunning for their first win of the tournament on Saturday.

“They obviously see us as an opportunity,” he said.

“They should have beaten us two years ago. It’s their first home game as well, so they’ve been to two tough venues in Cardiff and Paris, and played well in the second game against France, and they’ll get a boost from knowing that they have 60-70,000 supporters behind them.

“So, we’ll see them really come at us with the way they are playing and their physicality.”

One of the major talking points of Scotland’s campaign so far has been the two mistakes by Stuart Hogg which have proved pivotal in the losses to Ireland and England.

However, the full-back showed how unaffected he has been by his errors by scoring an impressive try for Exeter last weekend which, Townsend admitted, he was delighted to see.

“I was watching that (Exeter)game, just hoping he would make it through the 80 minutes,” the head coach said.

“To go back on the Monday to train, and then play six days after back-to-back Test matches, I thought he was outstanding, and to get the try will just give him huge confidence going into this weekend.

“He has trained very well, he’s full of energy like he normally is. Sometimes playing in the week between Six Nations Test matches is a risk in terms of where you are physically, but it can give you confidence and a real boost going into the next game if you come through it playing well.”

And the head coach has also been impressed with how the 27-year-old has taken to the captaincy, with it, he says, seeming like a natural fit for Hogg.

“He’s thriving in the role,” Townsend said.

“I’ve seen captains who are maybe unsure about when to speak, some captains will think a lot about the role rather than focussing on themselves and letting it come naturally, but Stuart is one of those who speaks naturally and it is not effecting the way he is playing or training.

“He’s working really well with a small leadership group we have. The group are coming together on the training field more than I’ve seen it before.

“He knows what to say and is doing that naturally.”

Townsend spoke prior to the tournament of how lucky he felt that his squad was relatively unaffected by injuries.

He has still not been as badly hit with withdrawals as he has in previous campaigns but the news following the England game that Jonny Gray would miss the remainder of the tournament was a major blow.

However, Townsend has chosen Toolis to replace Gray in the starting fifteen in Rome and is confident that there is plenty of cover in the second row to ensure Gray’s presence is not missed too severely.

“Jonny has played over 50 times for us and has always been a consistent player in terms of his defence and how workrate as well as other parts of his game,” the head coach said.

“Those two second-rows know they have to play at their very best level but we are fortune that’s it’s a position where we have really good strength and depth.

“Scott Cummings came through at the last World Cup and he’s had a very good start to the Championship.

“Ben has played well for Scotland in the past and is playing well for Edinburgh.

“And Grant Gilchrist is an experienced player on the bench and Sam Skinner is back in our wider squad and someone who’s played well for us.

“I believe that the two starters can play really well this weekend.”