This will be my first match of this season's Six Nations Championship and my first for Scotland as an “exile”. It has been odd this week, being a foreigner in my home town, living out of my sports grip and spending my day off kicking my heels in a hotel.

It is all change in Edinburgh. Work on the tram system has started, traffic chaos has ensued and, perhaps more disruptively, the Oxfam record shop in Stockbridge seems to have almost doubled its prices. And I am sure that Scotland did not used to be this cold. At least the television is good - French programming leaves a lot to be desired. The French have had to resort to good food, culture and conversation to fill their evenings, poor things.

Being back with the Scotland squad took a day or two to get used to as well. Each team have their own style of training. In France they maybe have a more philosophical approach and I can be a little slow to adapt between the two. And over here I cannot hide behind the language barrier. There is no excuse for any reclusive tendencies I may suffer. One is obliged to engage in conversation (with other players, taxi drivers, family members, etc) and work one's verbal magic with the press. Not that I resent it, I am just unsuited to the task and the experience tends to be awkward and embarrassing for all concerned.

On the pitch, of course, I manage to overcome this problem, shouting being part of the job. Back-row players have to be very vocal and should be constantly communicating what they are doing and their opinion on what everyone else ought to be doing. My strangulated French is tested to its limit. Today there will be a lot of this to be done in tandem with the front five, particularly in defence, as we can expect to be greatly tested around the ruck by the England pack's power and aggression.

They have been very impressive so far, even in the match they lost against Wales. They do the basics with great precision and effectiveness and I am always impressed by Nick Easter. He seems consistently to do the right things, never makes errors and utilises his strength and size extremely well. In short, I like his style. He is also the kind of No8 that our scrum half, Mike Blair, wishes he had.

Having watched the rest of the tournament from the relative comfort and obscurity of my Parisian garret and being struck by how much of a battle each game has been, coming back for this match is a bit of a challenge. My club game last week provided decent preparation because we played Biarritz, who are, like England, rather costauds (trans: sturdy).

But there is nothing like a Test match - the pace, the noise, the pain. I have been excited and anxious all week, as have we all, and am looking forward to playing with Alasdair Strokosch, who was fantastic against Ireland, and Ally Hogg, who also looked in good form. We played some good stuff in that last game, but it was not enough and players and public alike become weary of finding positives in defeat.

No amount of pressure or disappointment can detract from the pleasure and honour of playing for Scotland, however. For a hundred reasons the odds are increasingly stacked against us, but that should suit us. Perhaps that was a problem at the start of the Six Nations: expectations were too high. It never suits us (we never learn). Anyway, no one expects much of us today, so .... perfect. Let's get stuck in.