After a shambolic first 40 minutes the Scots trooped off the pitch 38-3 down - but after some soul searching in the dressing room, Matt Williams players fought back to put a semi-respectable sheen on the 46-22 result.

And the Northampton Saints player insists the Scots need to carry on where they left off against the Welsh when they take on England at Twickenham if they hope to beat their traditional rivals.

He said: It was a collective feeling of, oh no, if we carry on like this were going to give up 80 points on our own turf so I think it was fear, absolutely.

It was a shell-shocked atmosphere at the interval and I think it was a time for quiet contemplation, we had had enough opportunities standing under the posts in the first half to say our bit.

It was an individual realisation that we needed to do something but it became collective when everyone realised we couldnt defend for another 40 minutes like that.

We loosened the shackles in the second half and went out to play some rugby and people wanted to get their hands on the ball and express themselves.

The attacking stuff we played in the second half against Wales was as good a brand of continuity rugby as weve played all season, there were passes going in and people were running hard.

I hope we can bring that same emotion to Twickenham, its just a matter of starting like that rather than doing it when its too late.

And attack will be the best form of defence against England, we cant sit back and rely on them not scoring tries, weve got to do it ourselves.

The 33-year-old however, admits it will take a bit more than emotional nationalism to defeat the Auld Enemy on their home patch for the first time since 1983.

He said: Braveheart and all that stuff is a bit of a cliché.

Obviously there is an added edge to the game against England but after a pretty bad performance against Wales and a pretty mediocre championship, we want to end up on a high.