Scotland full-back Hugo Southwell says the Six Nations clash with Italy falls into the "must win" category.

Frank Hadden's side are looking for their first victory of the campaign after defeats by Wales and France.

The Scots face the Italians at Murrayfield on 28 February in a game Southwell says the Scots must win.

"We've got to make sure that against Italy, in what's a massive game for both teams, that we get that result," Southwell said.

Scotland's 22-13 reverse against France in Paris left them in fifth spot in the Six Nations table with no points from their opening two matches.

"We're not quite getting the results that we want," said Southwell.

There's still a lot to play for and three massive games to come. We've got to start with a good win against Italy Hugo Southwell

Southwell added that victory over the Italians would mean the squad could look forward to the remaining matches against Ireland and England with a greater sense of purpose.

"There's still a lot to play for and three massive games to come. We've got to start with a good win against Italy in a week-and-a-half's time," he added.

The Edinburgh full-back said there was a marked improvement in Scotland's defence despite the defeat by France, but there was still a frustration that the forwards did not score more points.

He also said that the two-week break ahead of the Italy game should give the players enough time to recover after a punishing start to the campaign.

Italy are sitting bottom of the Six Nations table, but have defeated Scotland in each of their last two championship meetings - a fact that Southwell warned would mean the Italians will approach the Murrayfield encounter in confident mood.

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