NO ENGLISHMAN carries a heavier burden of public expectation in today's Calcutta Cup match at Twickenham than Paul Grayson who takes on what has to be regarded as the poisoned chalice of the out half position.

It will not be enough for the Northampton man merely to kick his goals - he must also shape the game with sufficient style to satisfy England's disgruntled supporters who are paying up to £32 a seat. This season Mike Catt, the Bath number 10, has already come and gone after three inconsistent pre Christmas internationals which exposed his poor decision making under pressure.

Perhaps the biggest irony of Grayson's restoration (after winning five caps last season) is that he will face his Northampton team mate Gregor Townsend who ousted him from the number 10 spot in the autumn as a prelude to taking the Scotland shirt away from Craig Chalmers.

Grayson has been playing for his club at full back with assurance and no little flair while he 23 year old Townsend has taunted English League defences with his bold running and sharp distribution.

Today's confrontation should make for an intriguing scenario which underlines the national characteristics embodied in both players. Grayson is a cool organised performer with a kick like a mule and a will to win every bit as stubborn. Townsend has a genius for unlocking the tightest defence with the kind of instinctive decision that only looks right after the shutters have fallen.

As Grayson pointed out this week, he has a firm grasp of the imperatives of the Five Nations championship, having been an ever present in last season's competition which England won despite an opening defeat by France. Indeed, the Northampton goalkicker proved to be the hammer of the Scots at Murrayfield, scoring all his side's points in an 18-9 victory and pacing the game shrewdly behind a dominant pack.

Grayson knows he must strike a balance between excessive caution of the type that used to draw criticism on to Rob Andrew and ill considered risk taking of the kind that caused Call to be relegated to the bench.

He believes the bottom line is to get more points on the board than the opposition by all available means, yet he is keenly sensitive to the attacking potential of his threequarters.

Grayson of course is not just a superb goal kicking machine, as Northampton have found to their lasting benefit, but there is no doubt that the England coach Jack Rowell regards the extra insurance of a top marksman as indispensable in his quest for a third successive Five Nations crown. One thing is certain: the mercurial presence of Townsend opposite him will act as a huge stimulus on Grayson to seize every chance to scatter the Scots and unleash the midfield power of Carling and de Glanville which has been mainly under wraps this season.

The England skipper has made it clear that he wants England's Five Nations campaign to serve as a positive advert for European rugby, For that reason we can expect a more varied, flexible approach from Grayson than last year. The options available to the England out half, though, will depend crucially on how the revamped back row of Dallaglio, Rodber and Richard Hill, who makes his debut at open side, cope with the fast rucking and disruptive fringing of the Scots. The best creative intentions could soon founder if Grayson and Gomarsall have to contend with slow ball.

England of course never relish the tag of favourite's while the Scots positively thrive on the historical associations that go with the role of underdogs. For all that Scotland have failed to win at Twickenham since 1983.

Scotland look most vulnerable in the front row where Stewart, Ellis and the debutant prop Tom Smith muster a total of three caps between them, hardly a reservoir of experience to cause England undue anxiety.

Rob Wainwright, the Scottish captain, has hinted strongly that he believes his side will win yet, were it not for the line out threat he can present along with the locks, Reed and Weir, his optimism would be totally unfounded. Whatever England's tactical shortcomings in the autumn, they may prove they still have sufficient power and guile up front to prevail in a difficult game.

Certainly the 75,000 crowd will hope to witness something rather more appetising than a characteristic knees up between ruthless English forwards and scavenging Scots who test the laws to the limit.