In all he has made six changes, with No. 8 Richie Vernon, winger Simon Danielli and centre Joe Ansbro also returning for the crucial pool B match.

And while Scotland know they will almost certainly be heading home from New Zealand if they fail to defeat the auld enemy by eight points, the former England coach claims his squad are relishing the clash.

Robinson said: “We know the challenge we face and the players are really excited by it. There is a great buzz about the place and the focus is on winning the match, not getting ahead of ourselves.

“It is important that we find wide spaces to attack in and that is why we have picked a side based on speed.

“It is important to have a running threat at nine. We felt Rory moved the ball around well in the games he has played but

Mike, and Chris coming off the bench, actually add that running threat. We want to ask questions of England, we need that at nine.

“We can't go on the pitch and chase the game, we've got to build ourselves into the game.”

Among those to miss out are injured duo Kelly Brown and Jim Hamilton, while Nick De Luca drops to the bench in Auckland.

Sean Lamont moves to inside centre to partner Ansbro in a game that sees Chris Paterson make a Scottish record 15th World Cup appearance.

Scotland need to win and deny England a bonus point in their first clash on neutral soil for 140 years to maintain their record of making the knockout stages in every World Cup to date.

“We're not playing Argentina, we're playing England. It's a completely different game,” Robinson added.

“We've got to get the scoreboard moving right at the start of the game, play what's in front of us and not get concerned about the scoreboard.

“We have not got our execution right in the final third. This is not about knocking England out of the tournament but about Scotland making the quarter-finals.”

Scotland team to face England:

15. Chris Paterson – Edinburgh
14. Max Evans – Castres
13. Joe Ansbro – London Irish
12. Sean Lamont – Scarlets
11. Simon Danielli – Ulster
10. Ruaridh Jackson – Glasgow Warriors
9. Mike Blair – Edinburgh
1. Allan Jacobsen – Edinburgh
2. Ross Ford – Edinburgh
3. Euan Murray – Newcastle
4. Richie Gray – Glasgow Warriors
5. Alastair Kellock – Glasgow Warriors
6. Alasdair Strokosch – Gloucester
7. John Barclay – Glasgow Warriors
8. Richie Vernon – Sale Sharks

Replacements:
16. Scott Lawson – Gloucester
17. Alasdair Dickinson – Sale Sharks
18. Nathan Hines – Clermont Auvergne
19. Ross Rennie – Edinburgh
20. Chris Cusiter – Glasgow Warriors
21. Dan Parks – Cardiff Blues
22. Nick De Luca – Edinburgh