When Scotland were 20 seconds away from disaster against Italy

The cool-headed stand-off dropped the goal which gave the visitors a skin-of-your-teeth 21-20 win at the Stadio Olimpico 12 years ago.

There were 79 minutes and 40 seconds on the clock when the ball sailed through the posts and turned defeat into triumph.

It was the third round of the 2014 Six Nations but turned out to be the wooden spoon decider with each team losing their other four games. It was a rare bright spot in a disappointing campaign for Scott Johnson’s Scotland and a moment that showcased Weir’s talent.

“Not only [was I] able to execute a skill in that high pressure, it was hugely important,” he recalled. “I'm very proud of myself to be able to do that, because there was pressure on the whole squad at that time and the coaching staff. The Ireland game [in round one] went so well for 60 minutes and then the wheels came off and that scoreline looks a wee bit different to what it could have been [Scotland lost 28-6 in Dublin].

“And then the next game at home at Murrayfield was the England game and we really didn't come out of the blocks at all [Scotland lost 20-0]. We didn't fire a shot. The pressure of the Italy game, the wooden spoon decider as many of the journalists called it, I think just the relief of that win and the pressure getting off our shoulders for not receiving the wooden spoon was huge for the squad.”

Weir had gone into the game in fine fettle. The training session the day before had gone well, particularly the kicking, and the match ebbed and flowed. Alex Dunbar scored two tries for Scotland but when Joshua Furno scored a 70th minute try for Italy, converted by Luciano Orquera, Scotland found themselves 20-18 behind with time running out. Step forward, Weir.

Weir was dialled in

“I’d had a really good team run and I actually hit a few drop goals the day before and it was just one of these weeks that I was really dialled in to my process,” he said. “If you had to jump back into that scenario now, I'd probably be a nervous wreck because you know the outcome of the result, you know the pressure and all the rest of it. But in the moment I was just totally clear on my process.

“So the two thoughts that I was thinking were just keeping my head down and staying in the kick and then just keeping my ball drop and perfecting that because my leg knew how to kick the ball. And the rest is history, and I knew when I went through the process of doing it and the ball came off my foot, I looked up once and that was enough for me. I ended up jumping back in like a Duracell bunny and running about like a headless chicken a little bit!”

Weir will be part of Premier Sports’ coverage of Italy v Scotland on Saturday as Gregor Townsend’s side open their 2026 Six Nations campaign in Rome. Weir will be providing expert analysis in the studio and expects another close encounter.

“I think it's going to be a tough match. Everyone's talking about this being Scotland's best squad that's ever been assembled. I think Italy are there as well. They're really strong.

“They've got most players playing abroad with some fantastic French teams and a few in the English Prem as well. It's going to be a huge challenge to go out there and win.”

Duncan Weir will join Ryan Wilson and Sebastian Negri for Premier Sports' full live coverage of Italy v Scotland this Saturday starting at 1.30pm on Premier Sports 1. To join in visit www.premiersports.com