If England are facing a collective test of "bottle" against Scotland, then Ben Youngs is braced for the sternest examination of all.

Youngs: Well known for his temper

The fiery Leicester scrum-half is sure to be targeted by Scotland after losing his cool on two high-profile occasions in the last year - against Ireland in Dublin and Ulster at Ravenhill.

The first of those episodes resulted in a yellow card - awarded for throwing the ball away - as England's Grand Slam aspirations were wrecked by the Irish at the Aviva Stadium.

The second occurred the last time Youngs took the field, when he raged at referee Romain Poite as Leicester crashed to a 41-7 defeat and out of the Heineken Cup.

Former international Stuart Barnes suggested this week that another explosion of temper from Youngs could cost England a chance of victory at Murrayfield.

The 22-year-old will not apologise for his passion - England's World Cup failings left him feeling "rock bottom" - but he is acutely aware what scrutiny he will be under this weekend.

"I should know better than to lose my rag but I don't think it happens too often," Youngs said.

"I am pretty calm most of the time but in the heat of the moment, when you are losing by that many and it means a lot to you, it can be frustrating.

"We felt we (Leicester) could go there and win and we ended up getting an absolute hiding. No one enjoys that but you take the bad bits out and make sure it never happens again.

"There is no bigger challenge than going up to Murrayfield and testing our bottle as a team.

"Of course I am a bad loser - we are all bad losers and I am probably worse than some.

"My frustrations are going to be shown at some stage but I should probably wait until I get into the dressing rooms."

It has been a difficult time for Youngs, who made his debut at Murrayfield two years ago as England's golden boy but then struggled with a knee injury through the World Cup.

England found immediate success with Youngs in the side, beating Australia home and away and winning the Six Nations title before losing their way in New Zealand.

On Saturday, Youngs will take the field as one of the more experienced men in a green England team and he is relishing the dawn of a new era.

"We are humble, we are together and the big difference has been the culture," Youngs said.

"Has it needed to change? Definitely. Has it changed? Certainly. It is a good place to be right now.

"Everything that has happened in the past has been and gone now.

"We don't want to draw on it at all - it is a fresh start and it is all about us.

"It is about having a club culture and working hard for each other. If we get that right and we play for the right reasons we will be a hard team to beat.

"Look at our back three (of Ben Foden, Chris Ashton and David Strettle). That is pretty amazing and I am sure any country in the world would love to have that much pace and athletic ability.

"Look at our back row (of captain Chris Robshaw, Phil Dowson and Tom Croft). We have carriers, distributors, passers, people who can offload and tackle, nick ball.

"And we have great decision makers with Owen Farrell and Charlie Hodgson. If we get things right I am sure the potential will be unlocked."