Scotland hooker Ross Ford has warned his teammates to expect a physical battle when they face Italy in their second match of the Six Nations this weekend.

Ford, who has replaced Dougie Hall for the clash, face an Italy side that were buoyed by their surprise win over France at the weekend.

"We won't get it any easier this weekend. Italy have a brilliant pack so we need to make sure we front up in the areas England exposed against us," the 28-year-old told reporters.

"We've been working in training this week, trying to make sure that doesn't happen again. We need to put in a performance in those areas that allows us to play the way we want to play, on the front foot."

Scotland opened their campaign with a 38-18 defeat to England.