Eight defeats from their last nine Tests saw England plummet down international rugby's world rankings, while head coach Andy Robinson inevitably paid the price for such a miserable results sequence.

With just 10 scheduled games before England's 2007 World Cup defence, Ashton knows time is not on his side.

But he has certainly shaken things up, retaining just two players in the same starting positions - flanker Joe Worsley and number eight Martin Corry - from England's last match against South Africa less than 10 weeks ago.

Fly-half Jonny Wilkinson is back for a first England appearance since his drop-goal won the 2003 World Cup final, while wing Jason Robinson has ended a spell in international retirement and ex-Great Britain rugby league captain Andy Farrell claims the number 12 shirt.

Ashton's headline selections have inevitably attracted widespread publicity, yet new skipper Phil Vickery now has the task of moulding everything together as England protect an unbeaten Twickenham record against Scotland stretching back to 1983.

The Scots, while welcoming back influential scrum-half Chris Cusiter, have lost the talismanic services of injured Sale Sharks flanker Jason White for their entire Six Nations campaign, and they face a Herculean task to keep a hold on the Calcutta Cup won at Murrayfield last season.

It is more than 20 years since Scotland retained the trophy, but it will require one of Six Nations rugby's great shocks for that to happen this weekend.

England, for all their recent problems, should be good enough - and classy enough - to win with something to spare.