Fergus Thomson insists the Scotland squad never doubted their ability to enjoy success in this year's RBS 6 Nations Championship.

Frank Hadden's men were comprehensively defeated in their first three matches in this season's championship and facing up to a second successive wooden spoon.

They had only scored one try as the backline continued to struggle to pose the opposition many problems.

In addition, the forwards had not dominated their counterparts and their defence was far from the watertight unit it had been in the previous two championships.

However, they raised their game against England and regained the Calcutta Cup with a 15-9 victory.

If the manner of the triumph was similar to that in 2006 against England in Edinburgh then the background to the match was very different.

Then, Scotland had opened the championship with a surprise win over France and had followed it up with a creditable display in Cardiff.

This time, there was huge pressure on Scotland's players and management as they faced up to the World Cup finalists. Thomson is adamant, though, that the confidence remained high in the camp.

He told PA Sport: "The confidence has always been there and hopefully we can carry that on to this weekend's game against Italy.

"There was a massive amount of pressure on us to perform because we hadn't played at our best. There was pressure on us and we always knew we could do it and stuck together.

"It would be massive to win in Italy. To win the last two games of the championship having lost the first three would be a superb effort."

Thomson entered the fray for just his seventh cap as a replacement for Ross Ford after the first-choice hooker picked up an injury which is also set to keep him out of the final round of the campaign..

He admits the physical challenge was greater than he usually faces for his club Glasgow but is relishing the prospect of more of the same against the tough Italian pack this weekend.

The 24-year-old said: "It's a step up from Heineken rugby in terms of the physicality of it. It wasn't the fastest game because of the conditions and so there were a lot of scrums, line-outs and penalties.

"I haven't had a massive amount of game time so it was good to get on and get 60 minutes or so. It was disappointing for Ross but it was a chance for me.

"A couple of line-outs went astray and although it was difficult conditions there was maybe an under-throw from me. I was pretty happy though.

"There is always room to improve. I like to get my hands on the ball and have a go so I was pleased the ball came to me on a couple of occasions.

"We can match anyone in the forwards so it was a good challenge. They are a big experienced pack but we like challenges and it was just good to get stuck in about them.

"The Italians have one of the best packs around and you want to play against those guys so it's one to look forward to for all of us.

"They'll be slightly different to England but they'll be tough and we'll be keen to meet the challenge."

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