So not only do we get a new shirt to wear in the autumn, there will be a new Scotland Head Coach in the form of Edinburgh’s Andy Robinson. Undoubtedly the best man for the job in the SRU’s eyes if not necessarily the highest profile, Robinson offers a combination of playing and coaching experience (World Cups, Heineken Cups, Lions) and local knowledge from his integration with the game here over the last couple of years. Andy believes he can make the difference to an underperforming Scottish team, and we all hope he can too. It has been frustrating to see talented players consistently under-perform in the navy shirt over the last few years, hopefully Andy can instill some of the killer instinct that his England teams of the past (and to some extent his recent Edinburgh teams) have shown. Robbo vs Johnno in RWC 2011 anyone? Get your cardboard Robbo with a see-you-jimmie masks now.
However the announcement will leave the odd Edinburgh supporter slightly worried about what will be in store for them in terms of coaching, having made strides since Robbo took over two years ago it would be sad to see them suffer a sub-standard appointment and regress. Hopefully the SRU will make a left-field but successful choice similar to the one that brought Andy Robinson north.
7 responses
I’m absolutely appalled at this decision. As a Scottish exile living in England, I am dismayed that the SRU could appoint an Englishman to coach the national team, and what makes it even worse is that it’s one of England’s castoffs!!
I don’t think it should matter that much. Plenty of other countries survive just fine with foreign coaches, I don’t think there is anything particularly special about us that we should have to be different.
Derek, as an exile in England, your attitude must make you popular where you live! Grow up you twit, it doesnt matter where your coach comes from as long as the team wins. Do you think Manyoo fans would rather have a Manc managing their team???
Robinson is an excellent appointment. Would like to see Rob Moffett given job at Edinburgh with Craig Chalmers working as his assistant. He has some excellent ideas and Moffett is technically one of the most astute coaches in the country.
I confess there was a time, back in the days when I was a much less open-minded person, when I would have objected to an appointment such as this. But Allan is right, we need a coach who will deliver results. There are currently no Scots who can do that, which means we have had to look beyond our borders. That’s not to say, of course, that we shouldn’t be looking to develop more of our own coaches so that in the future we will have a critical mass of Scottish coaches to draw from when appointing the Scotland coach.
Edinburgh will be a nice job for somebody, with Andy Robinson leaving the team in good shape. Hopefully that will mean it will attract a decent standard of applicants.
Edinburgh may well get a Scottish coach.
If the only focus is results then there will be no room for taking risks and moving the way we play the game to a new level. Changes in rugby laws always favour those who adapt quickly, and this often calls for innovation. My advice to Andy is to develop a way of playing that is entertaining, not just merely successful. Fast, off-loading rugby is the only way forward – sacrifice a bit of bulk for speed and wit. If players play as a real unit (hitting platforms in unison, forming waves of support runners etc.) then a loss of bulk is more than compensated for.
Well, its happened. The Scottish Rugby hierarchy have went out amongst the heather and scoured the country side for a young hopeful, an up and coming star, someone to lead us through to New Zealand so we can lose in the quarter finals, which is our right. We looked and we looked and we found….no one, none of our great retired heroes, are ageing stars, our warrior poets (Idon’t know what that means either) An old friend maybe, returning to put a smile on our down trodden faces, or a young stag muscles fired up, firing bolts of rugby lightning from his eyes, leading from the front, fighting to the end, leading the charge of 100’s of years of history. What we got, was sir clives offsider, the other guy. The guy that looks, just not quite right. Well, he will be dammed if he doesn’t and he will be never thanked if he does.
Was he really the best for the fans, the game, the country.
It’s just to dull for me really………….