RBS 6 Nations Championship
Venue: Twickenham Date: Sunday, 13 March 2011 Kick-off: 1500 GMT
Coverage: Watch on BBC One, BBC HD channel and the BBC Sport website; listen on BBC Radio 5 live and BBC Radio Scotland; text commentary on BBC Sport website and mobiles

Robinson and coach Gregor Townsend hope to plot a Scotland victory

Andy Robinson's side can overcome poor form to surprise Six Nations favourites England, says the last man to captain Scotland to victory at Twickenham.

Jim Aitken's side won 22-12 in 1983 and he says there are parallels with Sunday's fixture.

"We were complete no-hopers," Aitken told BBC Scotland.

"We were not only written off by the English and English press but written off by our own officials, who thought we were just down there for a jolly."

Aitken, now a successful businessman, stressed "fortunately, we had a squad of 20 players who really thought differently".

The former international prop is highly critical of the state of Scottish rugby, describing it as "a mess", but he believes that the present side can still overcome the odds.

"Andy Robinson's picked the best he's got and he hasn't got a huge amount of talent to pick from," said Aitken. "He is doing the best he can with limited resources.

Scotland teams now go on with misapprehension that they are actually going in as equals in these games Former Scotland captain Jim Aitken

"I've heard a lot of nice things being said by the English about the Scottish team, but let's not kid us on when we go down there.

"They completely dismiss us as no hopers, which should be in our favour. We have been in this position before."

Scotland have won only twice at Twickenham since the Second World War.

"History doesn't count for anything," insists Aitken. "This is just another game that they have got to go down and be prepared for.

"Unfortunately, the way rugby is played now, it's not good for the Scottish game.

"We are not allowed to get in about teams. Referees run the games nowadays."

Aitken believes the Scots must play to their own strengths and realise they must overcome a side chosen from a much larger country with greater talent at its disposal.

"First thing they have got to do is get right back to the basics," he said. "They have got to scrum well and win their own ball in the line-out and then they have got to start messing up the England ball as best they can.

"But the big problem we've got is that, even if we win this ball, we have got a major problem at half-back, where they seem to lack confidence in themselves and it looks like the team doesn't have confidence in them.

"Dan Parks has got to have the game of his life. Everything he does has got to be 110%."

Aitken, though, is critical of the standard of player compared to his day, when rugby internationals combined their sport with, in the 1983 side's case, being bricklayers, lorry drivers, lawyers, electricians and building society work.

"Everybody had their day job," he added. "But, when we were playing rugby, we were completely focussed on what we were doing.

"And I think there was a mental hardness that we don't see just now.

"We're too soft. We are mentally soft and we just look soft. I think rugby has definitely gone soft.

"I think you have got to have pride and a lot of passion. But you have also got to be a realist and, before the game starts, you have got to work out what you are good at and what you are bad at and we are bad at quite a lot of things.

"Scotland teams now go on with misapprehension that they are actually going in as equals in these games.

"Normally, they are not and have to play above their normal weekly game - they have got to do something different."

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