Scotland's New Zealand-born prop Simon Berghan has fired up the rivalry for this weekend's Calcutta Cup clash by buying into anti-English sentiment.

Scotland and England clash in a key Six Nations match in Edinburgh on Sunday (NZT).

It's a long and bitter rivalry and one that Berghan has quickly bought into, though he admits he didn't need much prodding given similar Kiwi sentiments towards the men in white.

GETTY IMAGES England captain Dylan Hartley and his team celebrate their Calcutta Cup win over Scotland last year.

"I knew all about the rivalry with England, of course," Berghan said after a Scottish training session.

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"I sort of knew that everyone hates England, basically, because we did, but when I came over here it was made more obvious to me, and the reasons why, the history and that.

"It will be brilliant to get one over on them next week, if I can say that. I certainly am aware of the rivalry there."

The 27-year-old former Christchurch club player made his debut for Scotland last year and has won six caps.

STUFF Simon Bergham in action for Sydenham in Christchurch club rugby ahead of his successful shift to Scotland.

He was part of the Canterbury and Crusaders developments squads before shifting to Scotland and joining the Edinburgh club in 2014, eager to cash in on his eligibility via his Scottish grandfather.

"I got a call about joining Edinburgh and after a bit of research jumped at the chance. I've never looked back. It was the best decision I've ever made," he told the Scotsman.

He had a tough debut against France last year but has felt increasingly comfortable in the international scene and was one of Scotland's stars in their 32-26 second round win over France a fortnight ago.

"This time last year, I was a new face and it was a tough Six Nations for me," Berghan said.

"The whole thing was quite overwhelming and I wasn't aware of how much I'd be affected by everything around it - the media, the build-up and everything.

"My first game was in France and I hadn't played in front of a crowd bigger than at Edinburgh, which, compared to the French crowd, was nothing and I just felt a bit like a boy in a man's world."

Berghan has just returned from a six-week ban for kicking opponent Fraser Brown in the head during a club match.

"You can believe whatever you like but it was a genuine accident," Berghan said.

"But the result was I clipped Fraser on the head and had to take the six weeks on the chin. It was a speed-bump but I did try to use the break to get better at other parts of my game.

"I spoke to him (Brown) afterwards and we know each other reasonably well and everyone who knows me as a player knows that that's not in my character.

"Unfortunately, when you look at it, it doesn't look that good, but Fraser was good and wrote a letter, as did Gregor (Townsend, the Scotland coach) but it was an outcome-based decision. The outcome was that my foot clipped his head and I had to take that."