Calcutta Cup 2012: Alasdair Strokosch hails Andy Robinson’s drive for success

THE oldest fixture in international rugby remains the one that Scots most want to win. But, while everyone in the home dressing room will share in that sentiment tomorrow, one man will feel it that bit more intensely than the rest – Scotland’s English coach Andy Robinson.

There was no disguising Robinson’s burning desire to win when he played in a white jersey with a red rose on his chest and that remains the case now he wears a blue tracksuit adorned with a thistle. Indeed, for back-row forward Alasdair Strokosch, Robinson’s eagerness for victory is greater than that of anyone else he has encountered.

Strokosch, who will wear the No 6 jersey tomorrow, is himself a frighteningly intense competitor. So, when he suggests that someone’s will to win is greater than his own, you do tend to sit up and pay attention.

What is more, when he addressed the theme at Murrayfield earlier this week, it was not in response to the kind of question which invites a player to praise his coach. Instead, he was asked if, given the coach’s nationality, the Scottish squad felt any difficulty expressing their feelings about this week’s opponents.

“I think he hates them more than we do,” the Gloucester player replied. “[Judging] from what he says to us. That’s not an issue.”

Lest anyone think that Robinson had developed a strange loathing towards his own compatriots, Strokosch mused for a moment then explained exactly what he thought motivated his coach. “I don’t know if it’s dislike with him. He’s the most overly competitive man you’ll ever meet in your life.

“He’s so desperate to stick it up his old employers and people he knows. And he’s so desperate to win all the time, that’s how it comes out.”

If Scotland have always been desperate to inflict a defeat on England, despair has too often been the prevailing emotion at the end of the match as another loss has been suffered. This time, though, while not subscribing to the over-exuberant school of thought which has Scotland as overwhelming favourites, Strokosch suggested that there are at least grounds for expecting a better outcome.

“There’s a huge opportunity for us here. Things seem to have been on an upward curve for everyone since the World Cup and we’ve got to make sure we continue that. It’s easy to talk about it and everything, but it is a big opportunity for us – and a big responsibility.

“All the perceived obstacles in front of us from the top sort of thing are getting swept out the way, so there are no excuses any more. It’s down to us.

“Disappointment is putting it lightly,” he continued when asked how he had felt in the wake of previous Six Nations Championships. “It’s been quite disappointing, frustrating, embarrassing, all the results that have gone against us, and all the times we’ve stood in front of you and said how good we are and how much of a chance it is, then it comes into the game and we make an arse of it again. So I’m saying exactly the same things again here. There are no excuses. We haven’t got any more. There’s no more to give.”

Asked why he thought it would be different this time, Strokosch offered a number of reasons. “The way everyone has been together. The way we’ve worked together.

“We’ve got not many changes since the World Cup, but we have got some new guys coming in with a ton of energy.

“We’ve got a lot more experience through the squad, including the bench.

“In the past we’ve had a good XV and not much behind that, whereas now it’s a bit different. Glasgow and Edinburgh are doing really well, and we’ve got a lot of boys in the Premiership and abroad who are performing really well too.”

It should be noted that the supposed weakness of the England team was not one of the reasons advanced by Strokosch. While others look at the England line-up and see frailties, the 28-year-old from Paisley thinks his team will win despite the opposition’s strengths, not because of their shortcomings.

“You could say it’s a new-look England team but they’ve got their traditional strengths and that’s what they’re going to stick to. Their gameplan will have aspects of how Saracens play, that’s not too hard to figure out, but the fact is Saracens are very, very good at it, so it is difficult to play against. So we’re expecting that and we’ve got ways we think we’re going to deal with it.”

It is a new-look Scotland back row, too, with David Denton making his first start at No 8 and Ross Rennie on the opposite flank from Strokosch, who is confident the selectors have gone for a winning blend. “I’ve played a bit with Ross – we played together when we were younger and have had a couple of games since then.

“You work as a unit and learn each other’s strengths. Big Dave’s a hell of a bruiser and he’s going to make a lot of yards when he gets the ball in his hands. Ross is an out-and-out proper seven and has got a lot of class about him as well.

“I’ve got to fit in somewhere in between that and do as much work as I can. Work-rate and physicality are two things that I’ve got to bring to that mixture.”

Having said all that, Strokosch reserved his most effusive words for one of the locks, Gloucester team-mate Jim Hamilton. “Jim’s been brilliant this year,” he said. “He’s probably been our best player, to be honest with you. He gets a joke about being Slim Jim, and everyone has a go at him about just about everything, actually, but to be fair to him he’s been outstanding. The amount of ground he covers you wouldn’t expect from such a big man. He looks like a big donkey, but he gets himself about and puts in a hell of a shift.”

Strokosch himself has always done that and tomorrow Robinson will let each one of his players know that he expects the same of them. he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Not against the English.