Edinburgh star Hamilton has pulled no punches in his assessment of his country’s performances since the turn of the year.

Before the tournament, head coach Frank Hadden billing his current squad as the strongest of his near four years in charge, they have once again failed to deliver.

This weekend will see Hamilton and his team-mates attempt to become the first Scotland side to win at Twickenham for 26 years and only the fourth since the stadium hosted its first Calcutta Cup match almost a century ago.

Such a result has been beyond many of the great teams of the past, let alone one which routinely comes up short.

But Hamilton, 26, said: “I think if we’re going to get any kind of credit, any slight positives out of the Six Nations, then we need to go there and win.

“To be honest, how many people are going to go there and expect us to win?

“But we’re going to go there, put our bodies on the line and just hope that something comes off.

“We need to win, otherwise it’s going to be a disaster, the Six Nations.

“I want to be in a team that is competing with the best teams in the Six Nations and hopefully the best teams in the world,” he said.

“We’re going out in every game to win, not just to win one or two games a championship.”

Scotland’s 22-15 defeat to Grand Slam-chasing Ireland on Saturday was the latest in a series of close games in which Hadden’s men were their own worst enemies.

“You have to feel for the people who come and pay and watch," added Hamilton.

“But they’ve got remember as well there’s no no-one out there who wants to win the game as much as us.

“We’re desperate to win a big game and make the country proud and make these people who are coming to pay to watch us proud.

“It’s difficult for everyone involved, but it’s got to turn around at some point, it really has.

“The coaches couldn’t be doing any more - it’s down to us guys on the pitch.”

Saturday’s game marked Hamilton’s surprise comeback from a shoulder injury, which forced him to miss the victory over Italy two weeks earlier.

He came through unscathed but fears the coaching staff may decide to change a losing team.

“I know when I play the game, I play it as if it’s my last,” he said.

“If they’re not happy with the way things went, it’s their prerogative to change it.

“They need to pick a team that is going to beat England away at Twickenham. All the boys in the squad will get behind the team that’s playing.”