You know the English media are rattled when their big-hitters start queueing up to take pot-shots at Scotland in Calcutta Cup week. After four defeats in a row in this fixture, there’s a sense of impatience about when the red rose is going to bloom again. The feeling is that the Jocks need put back in their box. Over the past few days we’ve had stories about “weedy forwards”, “plastic Scots” and a lengthy explanation as to why this is the only game that Gregor Townsend’s squad get themselves up for. There’s no denying that Townsend has achieved something rather special in the Calcutta Cup. In his seven meetings with England as head coach, the team have lost only once. This record includes three visits to Twickenham which have yielded two wins and a draw. You have to go back to 2017 for the last time Scotland lost at a venue which has traditionally been a graveyard for those wearing dark blue. Townsend now finds himself on the cusp of history. Scotland have never before beaten England five times in a row and the good news is that Finn Russell, the orchestrator of this incredible run, has been passed fit to play. Darcy Graham, however, will sit the game out following the clash of heads with Russell during the defeat by Ireland a fortnight ago. The coach and his squad arrived in London on Thursday, jetting in from their warm weather training camp in Spain. His experience of this fixture is long and chequered. Townsend made his debut as a Scotland player against England, coming off the bench as a teenager during the 1993 Five Nations Championship match at Twickenham. He was on the losing side that day and that was to be a recurring theme for the stand-off whose only taste of victory as a player against England came in 2000 when Scotland won memorably at Murrayfield in the final round after losing their previous four games in the inaugural Six Nations. By doing so, they denied England a grand slam. Asked yesterday if the Calcutta Cup mattered more to Scotland than England, Townsend gave a measured response. “I'll repeat what I've said over the years: this fixture matters more to our supporters than any fixture, but I can't comment on the groups of players,” he said. “It's one they look forward to and I have experience of that. We lost four games in a row in 2000 and in the last game we beat England it was my only victory as a player against England, and I think the reaction to that season was almost the same as the season before when we won [the final Five Nations Championship] because it's the game our supporters looked at, our biggest rivals. “And also, the game itself, it's the most historic game in our sport. We play for a trophy, so it is a huge game and it's a huge game for both sets of supporters, both sets of players.” Townsend says “you can't deny history” and points out that it is not just Scotland that relishes its tussles with England. “I think if you ask the Welsh supporters and Irish supporters and the French supporters which is the biggest game you play every year, they'll choose the English game. “They're the biggest nation that we come up against so it's great for a supporter as banter and if you can get one up over your nearest rivals, your most historic rivals, then it means more for your week and potentially weeks to come.” Townsend will lean into the emotional side of the rivalry but not too much. He has been around long enough to know that cool heads are more effective in the heat of battle. “We have to be calm amongst the chaos,” he said. “I would say that maybe in the past, and I'm speaking personally here, that too much emotion came out, and [there was] not enough calmness and clarity in what we were doing. So I know the passion will be there, the passion will be there to play for your team-mates, to play for your country, to show an improved performance from the last game.” He added: “I don't think it's ever the case that the game of rugby is won by who's up for it more. And sometimes it's lost by being up for it too much. I've certainly had that experience as a player and in 2019, I felt I got the players up a bit too emotionally for the start of the game [Scotland fell 33-0 behind before coming back to draw 38-38]. “You've got to be lucid, calm, in control, but you have to be aggressive. You've got to be physical, and you've got to bring that out, and maybe in the past we got the balance too much on the passion, the emotional side of it.” Townsend acknowledged that another defeat would end any hopes Scotland had of a championship challenge and the same is true of England. Both sides have already lost to unbeaten Ireland while the Scots beat Italy in round one and Steve Borthwick’s side secured a highly impressive victory over France in round two. England are favourites to win on Saturday and there’s no doubt Scotland will miss Graham. His place on the right wing is taken by Kyle Rowe and Townsend has faith in the Glasgow Warriors flyer who impressed in last season’s championship, both on the wing and at full-back. “He has always delivered when he’s had a chance,” said the coach. Townsend has brought back Jamie Ritchie who is something of a Calcutta Cup specialist who, along with Russell, Duhan van der Merwe and the absent George Turner, has started all four of the wins over England since 2021. The coach cited Ritchie’s excellence under the high ball as one of the reasons for his selection but he will also be hoping that he can help fix the problems at the breakdown that have dogged Scotland. The only other change sees Pierre Schoeman return at loosehead, with Rory Sutherland reverting to the bench. England have changed the name of their home since Scotland last played there in 2023. Twickenham has been rechristened Allianz Stadium after the naming rights were sold for an eye-watering £100 million. Whether it will bring them a change of luck in this fixture remains to be seen. Scotland: B Kinghorn; K Rowe, H Jones, T Jordan, D van der Merwe; F Russell (co-capt), B White; P Schoeman, D Cherry, Z Fagerson, J Gray, G Gilchrist, J Ritchie, R Darge (co-capt), J Dempsey. Replacements: E Ashman, R Sutherland, W Hurd, S Skinner, G Brown, M Fagerson, J Dobie, S McDowall. - Don't miss a moment of this year's Six Nations with The Scotsman's special 50 per cent discount offer for three months