Andy Robinson relishing passion of Calcutta Cup clash

Published on Tuesday 9 March 2010 22:20

ANDY Robinson is an engrossing character, a rugby man who lives for the game and all of its aggressive, confrontational and atmospheric qualities. So it was no surprise yesterday to detect a quiet eagerness as he prepares for his first Calcutta Cup on the northern side of the divide.

• Andy Robinson announces his squad to face England at Murrayfield on Saturday. The coach says the hairs on the back of his neck will stand up when he hears Highland Cathedral before kick off. Picture: SNS

He grew up as an avid English sports fan in Taunton, Somerset, and was immensely proud when he first pulled on the Bath jersey, was asked to captain the team and then earned his own lilywhite and red rose kit, the ultimate in his eyes, even though he would also go on to tour with the British and Irish Lions to Australia, working with and learning from the tour captain, Scotland's Finlay Calder.

He only played in one Calcutta Cup, in 1989, which ended in a 12-12 draw, so it was really when he turned coach that he got a taste for the ups and downs of the world's oldest international fixture. His first and last Calcutta Cup experiences as a coach with England ended in defeat, the final meeting in 2006 hammering a significant nail into his coffin as England's chief, coming just nine months before he was forced to quit.

If it was a surprise then that he would look north for his return to the game, nearly a year later, to those outside, unaware of his quiet workings within the Scottish game, his ascendency to the Scotland job might have set off alarm bells.

It certainly raised a few eyebrows in England and at the RFU, and this week there is a wariness over how much Robinson might enjoy putting one over on those who failed to support him in his hour of need.

The coach himself was doing a good job yesterday of trying to insist it was just another game. He acknowledges that it will be special when the teams come out on Saturday, but up to this point his mind has been full to bursting, as usual, with analysis of the opposition, where their strengths and weaknesses lie, and where Scotland might effect a better return for their hard work and enterprise than that witnessed in three successive defeats.

"I have looked forward to every Scotland game that's been; I really have," Robinson said. "People ask how I'm going to feel, but I feel exactly as I have for every international.

"It (an international match] is a great occasion. I really enjoy seeing how the Scotland team are preparing, the passion they're showing and what they're taking on to the pitch, and it's about us being able to take that next step. That's what I'll be looking for this weekend, us taking that next step."

But, and this is where the inner Robinson begins to emerge, there is a passion and history around this fixture all of its own. Scotland won the first meeting in 1871, but have lost 67 times since then, won on 42 occasions and the 'auld enemies' have drawn 17 Tests. That kind of record is what made the back-to-back wins for Scotland in the space of a week under Peter Brown and the Grand Slam successes of 1925, 1984 and 1990 that bit more special.

It is no longer the case that if Scotland beat England they are odds-on to win the championship as France and Ireland have stepped in where England have stuttered since their 2003 World Cup triumph. And if that trend continues beating the French and Irish will have greater kudos. But, currently, overcoming England resonates across Scotland in a way others do not and, as in an otherwise deflating 2008, Scotland need a win badly at this juncture.

Robinson gets that, and for all that he used to insist that Murrayfield was not intimidating to 'his' England he smiles now, broadly, at the prospect of watching his team run out in front of a home support, watching the opposition this time huddling out on the pitch, trying to keep out the cold, as the minutes pass before his team's dramatic entrance.

"I am looking forward to that," he said, the smile creasing his face. "I get passionate about the anthems; I love it. The one that really puts the hair up on the back of my neck is Highland Cathedral. I think that is a fantastic thing for us to run out to; I really do. But also hearing the crowd sing is pretty special, particularly when the bagpipes stop playing and the second verse (of O' Flower of Scotland] is just sung; that's always brilliant.

"I think it's really good. For me that's an important of the game; it creates the atmosphere. You get the haka and all these things are important touches. If it's pouring down with rain or it's snowing and you get left out there it does make it a bit ... well, you can make it a problem if you want to or you just let it go and use it for your own motivation."

It has become clear from players and coaches over the years that all sorts of inspiration have been used to 'warm up' the home side, passion-fuelled talk of Bannockburn and sassenachs and other derogatory comments about English characters filling the Scottish dressing room before this fixture. Robinson smiles again: "Whatever it takes," he says, "we will use" in a nod to Saturday's pre-match talk.

"I am very proud of my roots and what I did. I'm also very passionate and proud about what I'm doing here and who I'm working with. This is a fantastic group to be with and I've got a lot out of it personally but also in terms of my own coaching and what I've learnt being up here.

"It has been tremendous and very good on both sides, not only for me as head coach but also what I've got back from the Scottish people. It's been a perfect fit so far. And this week we need every little driver that we can find to be successful. I'll encourage it (anti-English sentiment]. And they can call me what they like as long as we get a performance."

Robinson's revival, his 'showdown' with his former nation and the fascinating 'Robbo v Johnno; teacher v pupil' pantomime will fill columns and airwaves right up until the 5pm kick-off on Saturday. It is a good story. But what will live longer in the minds of Scottish players and supporters is the game and the performances, and Robinson is experienced enough to know that.

Still, the Somerset man would not be the intriguing character he is were he not to feed off it, irrespective of what side of Hadrian's Wall he is now on.

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