Gregor Townsend believes Scotland will replicate their 1983 win and end a long wait to beat England at Twickenham.
“This squad has already beaten South Africa and Australia over the last two years,” said the Scots’ backs coach.
“We know it is going to be a very tough challenge. We have not won there in 28 years and we’re playing a team at the top of their form.
“But we’ve got the players and the tactics we believe will win it down at Twickenham on Sunday.”
Scotland usually go into games at Twickenham as underdogs and this time it is even more so.
The Scots have not won the Calcutta Cup against their traditional rivals since 2006 and have lost all three of their Six Nations games this season, while England are going for the Grand Slam after their three victories.
But the Scots have used being written off by the pundits as a stimulus for surprise results before.
It is disappointing that we have the talent to play well and we haven’t been
Scotland forward Nathan Hines
“That’s been the case in the past,” said Townsend. “I’d like to think we don’t need that motivation to win, but we know that there’s a performance building in this team and we’re desperately hoping it will come out on Sunday.
“I am sure there were doubters there when we played South Africa after a heavy defeat by the All Blacks in November.
“We know we owe Scottish rugby a performance – and also the supporters – and it would be a great place to do it down at Twickenham.
“They are the dominant country in terms of population in these lands and we’ve got a bit of history against them.”
Townsend believes the recipe for victory at Twickenham is simple.
“The team that takes their opportunities, the team that makes fewer mistakes,” he said.
“Obviously, a game of rugby, it is about going forward and stopping the other team going forward, so set-piece and defence will have a big part to play.
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No pressure on Scotland – Hines
“But we know we have to cut down the error rate and take those opportunities we’ve been creating.”
Scotland forward Nathan Hines, who returns to the Scottish back-row, believes the opposition on Sunday should be ideal for a side looking to overturn a run of defeats.
“I think it will give an extra kick in the pants this weekend, it always does, Scotland/England, so there will be a little bit more needle I think,” he said.
However, Hines admits that the Scots go into the game with their confidence at a low ebb.
“Obviously it is not sky high,” he said. “We haven’t been playing that well.
“If we have fixed one area of our game, another thing’s crept in, but there’s no pressure on us this weekend.
“We will just go down there and play the game we want to play and hopefully it will be good enough to win the match.
“We need to play at our best every game. It is disappointing that we have the talent to play well and we haven’t been.
“If we were just bad players, we could accept that.”
