THERE was, and is, always something in your face about Jim Aitken, the 1984 Grand Slam captain. I liked him, and his way with us, his charges. But he won't be at Murrayfield today, and he hasn't been to the home of Scottish rugby since the stadium was rebuilt, which I find sad.

``To be perfectly honest, I feel as though I have done my bit in rugby now,'' says Aitken, the former Gala player and now a successful businessman in Edinburgh and its environs. He will be 50 next birthday.

``I've been there, seen it and done it and I have the T-shirt. I now do the things I didn't get the chance to do when I played. For instance, I go shooting most Saturdays, and I like skiing. It's good to have time away from rugby.''

Amazing really. Does he still see the people who meant so much to him back in the days when he was leading a Scottish side that was doing the impossible by winning a Grand Slam for the first time in what seemed an age?

``Actually, I remain friends with many of the players from back then,'' he says. ``Last weekend, my wife and I went out with the Laidlaws, the Rutherfords and the Calders. I see the Bear (Iain Milne) occasionally, and the one thing that was so good about that time is that I made friends.''

Back then, rugby was perhaps a more innocent pursuit, with the love of the game at the top of the agenda and money seemingly a million miles away, but he guards against saying that the game back then was any easier.

``1984 was my swansong and as far as I can remember it all went very quickly. It seems so long ago now, despite it all having such an effect on us at the time. I suppose one of the greatest things was that it was 100% enjoyable. I enjoyed every minute.

``It certainly doesn't seem to bear any relation to the game now and the media hype these days far outdoes anything I ever saw as a player.''

He scoffs at the suggestion that players now do that much more to prepare for rugby than he did in his day. ``I saw a bit on TV about Kevin McKenzie and how he did weights twice a day. What's new? I was doing bigger weights than McKenzie, I can tell you.'' Told you he was in your face.

``The difference is that now the players have more free time to do it. I did weights with Chris Black, the discus thrower, at lunch and in the evening. The guys nowadays are part time.''

1984 was a glory year. Aitken's side won its Grand Slam by beating France at Murrayfield when Jim Calder's try crowned an achievement that seemed improbable at the outset of the season, but later appeared a just reward for their style. Some may not have liked their straight line game, but the captain's team was a consummate blend of raw running power - it was an early peak in Jim Telfer's rucking coaching - and superb rugby skills through the likes of Laidlaw and Rutherford.

And at the front was Aitken, a man who, quite honestly, never received the praise due him at the time. He didn't look it but he was an athlete who could run, he seldom went back in the scrums, and he was as tough as nails and twice as mouthy with his back to the wall. A good bloke to have as captain, a man with an edge to him.

Aitken's '84 side beat England at Murrayfield although, unlike today, it wasn't the last game in the campaign. He sees similarities between the England side then and now.

``We beat England because they couldn't change their game plan and they didn't on the day.

``The England team today has difficulty in knowing how to play and the way they could win is to bore the crowd to death at all costs. I have to say that, to me, it is that obvious.''

And the Scots? ``We would be very silly to change our style of play.''

Here's hoping that's what happens, and if Rob Wainwright scales Aitken's heights today then he must, surely, be more than happy.

JOHN BEATTIE

Aitken's team was a consummate blend of raw running power - it was an early peak in Jim Telfer's rucking coaching - and superb rugby skills through the likes of Laidlaw and Rutherford

THISTLE & ROSE

Today's match is the 103rd Calcutta Cup match having been instituted in 1879. The only two non-Calcutta Cup matches since were the 1971 Centenary match and the 1991 World Cup semi-final.

THISTLE & ROSE

Read all about it! Scotland 11 England 0 - At Hampden Park!! Yes it did once happen, in March 1896, but the sport was rugby and not a fantasy football result. For the record Scotland ran in three tries to nil.