Ooh for ah player like Cantona

SCOTLAND rugby coach Andy Robinson names his squad tomorrow for training at St Andrews next week in preparation for the RBS Six Nations Championship. Evening News rugby writer BILL LOTHIAN gives an insight into what makes the coach tick

ANDY ROBINSON has used footballer Eric Cantona as an example of a sportsman who symbolises the message he is trying to put across to Scotland's rugby squad.

That situation revolved around one of Scotland's least experienced players and it is Robinson's goal to have rookies and stalwarts alike backing themselves.


Also, the former England cap wants players to be regularly asking 'why?'


"Asking why is better than acting like a lemming without knowing how to improve. Lots of players take up positions without thinking. The reason is that they are comfortable there.


"It's about challenging them to get to the next step.


Scotland's defence was lauded in the Autumn and Robinson said: "With a defence that defended the way we did you can attack from deeper.


"There has been some improvement in the understanding of our attack.

"Coaching defence is a lot simpler than putting together a framework for attack. All systems for defence are similar throughout the world.


"One area that we have to develop is peripheral vision with awareness of players around as well as the ability to scan and see."


It is likely that Robinson's initial selection, which will eventually be cut to a matchday 22, will take into account the Scotland A fixture against Ireland in Dublin on Sat Mar 20, 2010

(17:00), when it is likely the selection will be heavily based on the side which thumped Tonga 38-7 at Galashiels in November.

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The opportunity will almost certainly be taken to integrate Euan Murray back into a dark blue jersey, the Lions prop having missed the Autumn Tests due to injury.

He will also delay any entry to the Six Nations at least until Scotland head for Wales on Saturday 13 February because the Sunday fixture against France conflicts with his religious principles.


If Scotland can get off to a winning start against it will be the first time in the Six Nations since Robinson's predecessor, Frank Hadden launched his Test career with a 20-16 win over France at Murrayfield in 2006.


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Rob Moffat buoyed as Rory Hutton muscles into contention

ROB Moffat may have finally broken the glass ceiling for the next group of emerging stand-offs by handing Rory Hutton his Magners League debut, but, having done so, the experienced Edinburgh coach could have given himself a real selection headache for the team's Heineken Cup matches over the next fortnight.

Had Edinburgh beaten Bath, as they probably should have done, at the Recreation Ground in early December, they would be staring at a great opportunity to qualify for the Heineken Cup quarter- finals. It is now slim, but the chance is not gone. Edinburgh need to win their remaining games, beating Ulster at Ravenhill for the second time this season and then Stade Francais at Murrayfield, preferably with bonus points. They may not even need Bath to win in Paris this weekend, though that would help.

It is not impossible as Stade have endured a tough time in recent weeks and are looking at a very French solution to the problem of running out of scrum-halves – playing the hooker there this week. Countless French sides have also shown an aversion to playing in Scotland, with Pau, Colomiers, Grenoble, Toulouse, Agen, Clermont Auvergne, Perpignan, Bourgoin, Castres and Biarritz all returning home winless. Stade also lost at Ulster this season for a third time.

If winning the pool and grasping one of the two best runners-up spots fails to materialise, two wins could still hand Edinburgh a place in the last eight of the Amlin Challenge Cup, and seal European rugby and more income in the latter stages of the season. So these games are important. There were many plus points in Saturday's team performance, notably up front, but after finding a stand-off with the ability to surprise a defence like Cardiff's and energise players around him the way Hutton did, the coach might have been tempted to stick with the same team.

However, he cannot. Hutton was not registered for the Heineken Cup as he was not in the frame for selection at the last stage of squad changes. That has eased Moffat's week somewhat, as the coach has the Scotland stand-off Phil Godman champing at the bit to return after a week off to rest a hip injury.

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