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SIX NATIONS RECORD (2000-08): 5, 3, 4, 4, 6 (Wooden Spoon), 5, 3, 6 (Wooden Spoon), 5. Only once out of bottom two in last five years, when home wins over France and England yielded third place in 2006.

COACH: Frank Hadden. His first Six Nations in 2006 justified his forecast of a "period of over-achievement", but the last two years have yielded a solitary win apiece. Always upbeat despite slender resources, but another poor tournament could see fresh calls for the former PE teacher's departure.

CAPTAIN: Mike Blair. Hadden's captain when he coached Edinburgh, the scrum-half has grown in stature since succeeding Jason White at international level. A model of consistency, his passing, kicking, sniping and leadership make him a strong contender for a similar role with the Lions.

RISING STAR: Ben Cairns. The 23-year-old Edinburgh centre, who can also play full-back or wing, has won five caps since his debut on last summer's tour of Argentina. Not the biggest physically but good in contact, his pace and incisive midfield running are what Scotland need.

X-FACTOR MATERIAL: Flying wing Thom Evans, 23, used to play bass guitar and sing for a boy band called Twen2y4Se7en, spending a year on tour with Westlife and McFly, performing in front of thousands of screaming girls. Oh, and his father Brian's cousin is DJ and TV presenter Chris Evans.

PROSPECTS: The bi-annual trips to Paris and London are not generally a source of succour, so will need to make the most of home games against Wales, Italy and Ireland if progress is to be made. Beating the champions first up could spark a renaissance, defeat further agonising.

ODDS: 20/1