He said: "Italy are a big, physical team and we will have to play a game which will negate their size.
"We are also looking for a bit of movement, taking the ball away from the bigger forwards and try to hit the edges of their big guys.
"We want to keep the ball alive and maintain our continuity to give ourselves a chance to compete.
"We are looking to vary our game enough to keep them a bit disjointed – mix it up as much as we can.
"This is really our first game together so we will put certain patterns into play and see what works and what doesn't."
Scotland Under-19 team to play Italy Under-19s on Sunday 25 February at The Greenyards, Melrose RFC, kick-off 2.30pm, is:
15 Harry Duthie (Harrogate)
14 Tom Bury (Edinburgh Accies)
13 Chris Kinloch (Fettes and Edinburgh Accies)
12 Stephen McColl (Dunfermline, Caledonia and Tayside & Fife Institute of Sport)**
11 Jonny Smart (Dunfermline)
10 James Murray (Edinburgh Accies)
9 Ross Samson (Tynedale)
1 Gary Strain (Dalziel)
2 Ralph McAnally (Perthshire)
3 Joe Stafford (Glasgow, Hillhead-Jordanhill and West Of Scotland Institute of Sport)**
4 Josh Brown (Bristol/Filton College)
5 Neale Patrick (Dunfermline)
6 Steven Burton (Currie)
8 Alexandre Wukovits (Begles Bordeaux)
7 Kevin Bryce (CAPTAIN, Glasgow, Stirling County and Central Institute of Sport)**
Substitutes
16 Angus Dixon (Aberdeen Grammar Rugby)
17 Lewis Niven (Edinburgh Accies/Trinity)
18 Adrian Duncan (Stewart's Melville FP)
19 Craig Charters (Hawick PSA)
20 Matthew Heeks (London Scottish)
21 Murray Allan (Stewart's Melville FP)
22 Lee Jones (Selkirk)
23 Ruairidh Bonner (Edinburgh Accies)
24 Ruaridh Jackson (Glasgow Warriors, Cartha Queens Park and West Of Scotland Institute of Sport)
25 Craig Simmonds (Dalziel)
26 Fraser McKenzie (Edinburgh Rugby, Dunfermline and Tayside & Fife Institute of Sport)