Andy Robinson faces being caught in the middle for Six Nations start

The head coach stated more than a week ago that he already knew what his starting line-up would be, barring injuries naturally, so he appears to have settled these issues, but he did not follow the precedent of his first autumn Test campaign in naming a handful beforehand.

So, we asked some famous Scottish players and coaches of the past to give us their verdicts on the contentious issues facing Robinson and his assistant coaches, Gregor Townsend and Graham Steadman, both ahead of the opening match with France on Sunday, 7 February along with their thoughts for the championship, and to pick their preferred starting XV.

All struggled with the midfield selections, each insisting they could perm any two from four and be comfortable, while only Peter Wright, the former Scotland and British and Irish Lions prop, opted for Dan Parks at stand-off.

Jim Telfer, who coached Scotland to their last significant success, the 1999 Five Nations Championship, opted for Sean Lamont at outside centre and said he would like to have seen young Glasgow front row Jon Welsh handed the loosehead prop jersey, and believes Kelly Brown would bring more to the team than Alasdair Strokosch at blindside flanker.

"It is always tough, for any coach at the start of the Six Nations," said Telfer, "and I remember going through the sorts of debates and discussions that Andy will be having with his coaches.

"So, what I think Andy and his team might choose and what I would choose is probably not the same thing. For example, I have been impressed watching Sean Lamont at outside centre for the Scarlets, but I don't know if they will feel able to go with that yet.

"But he has been a threat every time he gets the ball. The Scarlets encourage their players to play open rugby and he has been very impressive in broken play, which is where Scotland will also want to be dangerous.

"I also don't think (Alex] Grove is good enough yet to be an outside centre and don't feel Max (Evans] has been doing enough for Glasgow lately to win the jersey. Further out I would go for Simon Danielli because he is a very good player. He can sometimes go to sleep, but he can really carve open defences. And Rory Lamont is my choice at full-back providing he is fit enough.

"I know Jon Welsh isn't in the official squad, but he has played exceptionally well this season and had tighthead props in trouble in every game, so I can see him coming through. I think Kelly Brown deserves his chance in the back row because he has been playing so well, despite getting mucked about a bit. So, that would mean six forwards from Glasgow, and that's right because their pack has been very aggressive recently."

Wright defended his choice of Parks by stating: "For me, Dan is playing with confidence and he is a goal-kicker so you also take out the need to find space for Chris Paterson. I think Dan's on form and I don't think we want to run the ball against France initially, but get in the right territory and positions to get the scoreboard going, and then open out a bit later."

Chalmers, the stand-off in Scotland's 1990 Grand Slam win, disagreed, stating: "I would put Dan on the bench to give them an option, although they will probably go with Paterson to cover a few positions.

"There are some very big decisions to be made in selection across the three-quarters. I would go with Hugo Southwell for his left boot and Graeme Morrison at inside centre because he gives you the go-forward, but in the pack I agree with Peter that Richie Gray is ready for it and deserves a chance.

"Overall, I think the coaches will go with experience for the French game, but it's a really hard team to pick."

Wright also threw in the suggestion of starting Nathan Hines at blindside flanker, to accommodate youngster Gray in the second row, and also favoured Kelly Brown at No8 over his Glasgow team-mate Johnnie Beattie.

Gordon Bulloch played in Scotland's championship-winning side of 1999 and remembers how the midfield selected was swiftly broken up by the broken leg suffered by Duncan Hodge, yet became a settled team as it went on to win the title.

He said: "Having a settled team is very important and while the forwards are pretty much settled after what they did in the autumn – Richie Gray and Kelly Brown are pushing hard – there are a lot of questions in the backs because I don't we have seen as much from individuals there as we'd hope.

"Both tens have great attributes and Dan is carrying a lot of form but hasn't shown as much in internationals and I'd probably keep Godman because of the results we had in the autumn, and the need for creativity. But there's a lot more optimism going about and I'm really looking forward to it."

As for my own musings, one area in which I differ to others is the need for Chris Paterson. I do not yet share Robinson's confidence in Phil Godman as a goal-kicker, and feel Scotland's conversion to a team not only 'capable' of scoring but one that actually scores three or more tries regularly will not be instant. I applaud the coaches' desire to create a more attacking side, but while that is developed we cannot ignore the world's No1 goal-kicker, whose ability to win Test matches for Scotland is unrivalled – building on one-point wins, in what promises to be a tight championship, is easier than building on one-point losses.

Rory Lamont is not yet match-fit and Hugo Southwell has not played full-back for some time, which influences the decision, but Paterson is an intelligent head at the back, a good orchestrator and kicker from hand, and with good support the propensity for his slighter frame being turned over becomes more limited.

John Jeffrey was part of the famous 1990 Grand Slam- winning team, another that was not expected to win the title but had a strong team that virtually picked itself. He believes there should be much hope and expectation around the current squad.

"There's always a feelgood factor when you have a new coach and we had a great autumn Test series – just a whisker away from three wins out of three – but I'm also encouraged at the way Andy wants to try and play the game.

"On the back of Glasgow and Edinburgh punching well above their weight in the Magners League in terms of players and resources, there are great expectations on the team now.

"And we have real promise coming through with Jon Welsh, Richie Vernon and Richie Gray, who I would like to see at least in the 22 to face France. I have swithered over the midfield combination quite a bit, but Grove and Evans are the exciting, dynamic choice aren't they, and it would be great for Andy to announce a really attacking side on Tuesday and sell the remaining few thousand tickets for the game. It's great to feel the championship is now just around the corner."