Six Nations: Scotland must not fear history against England at Twickenham - Fraser Brown
- Published
Fraser Brown was sin-binned against England at Twickenham in 2017
Scotland must confront a wretched record at Twickenham "head on" if they are to upset the Six Nations holders, hooker Fraser Brown says.
England have not lost at home to Scotland since 1983, although there was an epic 38-38 draw in 2019.
"That weight of expectation can't not affect you as a team," said Brown, who misses the tournament through injury.
"Teams that try to park it and pretend it's not there, they are the ones that don't deal with it well enough."
The 31-year-old is hopeful Scotland can overcome the odds in their Six Nations opener on Saturday.
"For Scotland, it's about meeting the challenge head on, don't be afraid of any history, anything that's gone before," he told BBC Scotland's Sportsound. "Just accept what it is and play your natural game.
"England will be Six Nations favourites - they have top-quality, world-class players.
"Scotland need to find consistency and deliver in the big moments. We have a lot of players close to that top band."
Twickenham will be empty on Saturday and that could be an advantage for the visitors, who finished fourth in last year's competition with three victories.
"It is a very difficult place to play," Brown said. "England, under Eddie Jones, start tournaments quickly, start games quickly. But perhaps not having that baying mob pushing them on in the first 20 minutes could let Scotland come out of the blocks strongly."
Saracens were relegated from England's top flight at the end of last season following persistent salary cap breaches and Brown thinks the lack of game time for their players might also help Scotland.
"A large part of that England team hasn't played rugby in two months, the Saracens contingent," he said. "It doesn't matter how much fitness you do, there's nothing quite like playing.
"I think it's an opportunity for Scotland, off the back of where the team started the last Six Nations, being really difficult to beat, difficult to break down.
"Probably what we need to do now is add a bit more creativity. We went from scoring a lot of points and conceding a lot, with the needle swinging completely the other way, so there's a balance to be struck somewhere in there.
"We need to find that balance right from the first minute against England and not take a couple of games to figure out where that is."