The former England coach Andy Robinson has been made head coach of Scotland. Robinson, Sir Clive Woodward's deputy with the 2003 World Cup-winning England team, succeeds Frank Hadden, whose three-and-a-half years in charge ended two months ago after a poor Six Nations campaign that resulted in one win, against Italy, and a fifth-placed finish.
Robinson, the former Bath coach who succeeded Woodward with England, has three years to do something better with a side that performed well in the autumn, particularly against the world champions, South Africa.
Robinson won nine of 22 Tests with England between 2004 and 2006. With Scotland he will be looking for the kind of success he has achieved at club level. In 1998 he won the Heineken Cup with Bath and in his two seasons north of the border Edinburgh have finished fourth and second in the Magners League.
The 45-year-old, who won eight caps for England as an openside flanker and toured Australia with the 1989 Lions, says he is now "a better coach, a better leader and a better manager" than when he was with England. Then, like his successor Brian Ashton, who was to suffer a similar fate at the hands of Twickenham's committee men, Robinson asked in vain for a manager to look after non-playing issues.
Robinson, who still lives just outside Bath, has been the bookies' favourite for the Scotland job since Hadden departed, even though he waited until the last minute before making his formal application. The only other known candidate was the former All Black flanker Mike Brewer, who had been working as Scotland's forwards coach. He returned to New Zealand when he learned that the head coach's job was going elsewhere.
"One of the key things for me is developing that winning mind-set," Robinson said. "It's about winning and understanding how to win.
"I worked with the Scotland team in Argentina last year and I saw the enthusiasm and work ethic and also the potential that the players have. Having worked with Edinburgh as well and having coached the Scotland A side, I really feel it's a side that – I keep reiterating the word – is full of potential and I'm excited about working with that potential."
The Scottish Rugby Union's chief executive, Gordon McKie, said he was confident Robinson had learned from his England experience.
"Obviously we took it into account," he said. "We wanted to learn what happened then, that we wouldn't like to happen again. But Andy's been very honest with us ever since he joined us back in October 2007. Because of our small size relative to the RFU we have a much cosier structure and I think Andy will excel."