English rose can give edge back to Scottish thistle

Andy Robinson's appointment as head coach of Scotland on the whole generated a positive reaction from the rugby faithful.

However, one serial blogger - who shall remain nameless but you might know him as someone who wants to be best mates with every football club in existence - gave forth his views on one Scottish team's "Anything other than football" section.

Here's a sample:-

"I can't see what Robinson achieved with Edinburgh that Hadden (when the ex-Scotland coach was in charge of the Gunners didn't."

"I always had the sense he was floundering around (when Robinson was England coach), and totally over-promoted. Why the Scotland job should prove any different, I have no idea."

"He was awful with England, whose resources dwarf the SRU - and at Bath, he won one European Cup against the grain, and spent the rest of his time struggling and overseeing a very inconsistent side."

"What's his Heineken Cup record like? Any better than Hadden's was?"

"Bath were rubbish for most of his time in charge. It's his record with Edinburgh I'm interested in - not least because that seems to have catapulted him into the job, despite achieving little more in the club game's premier competition than Hadden did."

If you thought England captain Steve Borthwick's rant against us naughty Jockos celebrating beating the Auld Enemy in 2008 was funny, the above certainly puts all hospitals north of the Tweed on red alert due to an expected influx of patients with burst guts due to excessive laughing.

First point - Robinson guided Edinburgh to their highest ever finish of second last season.

Second - the great England side that Robinson inherited was breaking up. Unfortunately for him, everyone was expecting 'Les Rosbifs' to become the new All-Blacks after their World Cup success. Nobody noted the immediate decline in the 2004 Six Nations when Clive Woodward was still in charge. Plus when as man as obstinate as Rob Andrew (he who once thought it would be a great idea to stunt the development of promising young English players by attempting to scrap relegation and promotion in the top division) suddenly becomes your boss, unless you are Machiavelli himself, then something is bound to give.

Thirdly - Bath were inconsistent? Domestically, in Robinson's three seasons, they finished 3rd, 6th and 2nd. The middle was an obvious dip but he turned that around to push a very strong Leicester in the following season's title race. it is notable that once he left to join Woodward's staff with England, Bath failed to fill the void and nearly suffered relegation.

Fourthly - I'd say guiding Bath to the Heineken Cup in 1998 (and becoming the first English club to win it) trumps Hadden's 2004 quarter-final with Edinburgh.

Finally - his record with Bath has already been discussed. But let's not forget what state Edinburgh in when he arrived. They were uninspiring under Lynn Howells' stewardship and had become rugby's laughing stock in the summer of 2007 when war broke out between then-owners the Carruthers brothers and the SRU which resulted in the latter buying back the club and tearing up the pre-contract deal that Aussie legend Stephen Larkham had with the club. They were in disarray and Robinson did brilliantly to mould them into a unit and push them into a joint-third finish in his first season. They would be a place higher 12 months later.

Still, our net pundit did provide a good chuckle but in all seriousness, given Robinson's comments yesterday, Scotland fans can feel optimistic about the future - something that Frank Hadden was unable to provide (first season excepted).

It is hoped that Robinson will send out a Scotland team at least creates the impression that they believe they can win no matter who they are facing. Scotland fans can accept defeat. What they don't want is their team not to compete (first 70 minutes against Wales last season anybody?).

What they also don't want is a perception of an Edinburgh bias. Thom Evans' shameful exclusion from the Welsh game being a prime example despite being in red-hot form for Glasgow. I suspect this will not be a concern going on what Robinson said on his appointment and his selections when coach of Scotland 'A'.

Finally, an obsession with the opposition's strengths must not rear its head again. Robinson's comments on Scottish players being the only factor in whether they win or lose was encouraging. The episode of Hadden becoming so worried with Italy's pack in 2008 that his bench went from the conventional four forwards and three backs to a ratio of five and two respectively backfired leaving Dan Parks horribly exposed and served up as a scapegoat for the defeat (here's hoping our new coach will take his share of the blame should a manoeuvre of his own design go pear-shaped - we also hope this will be a rare occurrence).

As for Robinson being English? So what. Although a Scottish international, Yorkshireman Ian McGeechan in his first spell as coach oversaw what was undoubtedly our greatest ever team. Being born in Taunton will not be a factor in whether or not Robinson can take Scotland to such lofty heights again.