Morrison looking for continued improvement

Morrison, who will start in the No12 shirt against Italy on Saturday, was part of the Scotland side that suffered a heartbreaking injury-time defeat to Wales last time out.

For 60 to 70 minutes of that 31-24 reverse in Cardiff, Scotland were nothing short of superb.

Andy Robinson's men were by far the better team for all bar the closing stages of a memorable encounter but the record books show a second successive defeat in this year's Six Nations.

But even though Morrison, who will be winning his 21st cap in Rome this weekend, admitted to a 'few sleepless nights' after that defeat, he insists that there remains a positive attitude in the Scotland camp.

"We showed levels of intensity that I've certainly not seen before in the jersey and we can only build on that," said Morrison.

"One of our key targets is to improve game-on-game and if we're going to hold true to that then we're going to have to improve this week, which is something all the players are relishing the challenge of doing.

"We've put in some good performances this year and we're going to have to do that again this weekend.

"We know it's going to be a very tough encounter, but we're going to think more about what we're going to do, as opposed to what they're going to do.

"We're looking forward to doing justice to the way we can play."

Both sides begin the Round 3 fixture at the Stadio Flaminio without a win to their name but Morrison does not buy into the belief that Saturday's clash is nothing more than a Wooden Spoon decider.

Italy came close to shocking England in the second round of action, while a new-look Scotland beat Australia at Murrayfield only three months ago.

And Morrison believes the gap between those at the top and bottom of the Six Nations is decreasing every year, meaning a trip to Rome is another hugely demanding encounter.

"We know the Italians will be viewing this as their game they can win.

"Playing in front of their home crowd in sunny Rome, that will be absolutely what they're wanting.

"The (two) teams are progressing and have progressed massively over the last couple of years.

"You look at the way Italy gave Ireland a really tough run and gave England a even tougher run. So it's a lot closer than people might think, this tournament."