Scott Hastings regrets loss of New Zealand tours but accepts Scots might benefit

ANDY Robinson has proven highly adept at laying foundations since arriving in Scottish rugby after the 2007 Rugby World Cup, but as he plots Scotland's next World Cup campaign the coach appears to have polarised opinions on his plans for the longer term future.

Now that we have been given a clearer picture by the SRU on how the new touring schedule for 2012-19 came about – if not totally clear, as there remains the suspicion that one-Test trips to southern hemisphere nations remains partly by design from Robinson and partly through Scotland no longer being a popular attraction down under – there remain two takes on it.

On one hand it has to be regrettable that Scotland will not face the leading nations in any kind of series in the foreseeable future, especially New Zealand, which will create a gap of more than 20 years without a meaningful Test series for Scotland in the Land of the Long White Cloud. On the other side of the debate is the argument put forward this week by Robinson that Scotland no longer have the resources to cope with three Tests at the top level at the end of increasingly tough seasons. It is merely being realistic.

Tom Smith, the former Scotland and British and Irish Lions prop, and now Edinburgh's forwards coach, said this week he believes players benefit uniquely from playing Test series in the top nations as they provide benchmarks they could not experience elsewhere. Scott Hastings toured New Zealand on several occasions with Scotland and is also disappointed the current generation will not experience the same exciting challenge, but he is also hopeful of potential benefits in the SRU's decision.

"I am disappointed because it is just as important for Scottish players to be exposed to touring in places like New Zealand," he said.

"I still believe New Zealand is the most exciting country to tour, and facing up to them for another crack a week later after being beaten in the first Test is a big part of the learning experience.

"Being exposed to the whole environment out there, where you are under scrutiny from the moment you step off the plane, is incredible and my tours there definitely played a huge role in my development. I do have a concern that we're lining ourselves up instead to be the tier-two type warm-ups for the big tours, and that's not the role that Scotland should be playing.

"But, trying to understand where Robinson is coming from, I do feel that a three-Test tour is possibly too much for our players now. We don't have the number of players of England or France, or even Wales, and you can see right now how stretched we get trying to get squads together at the end of a long, demanding season."

He added: "I would have liked to have seen the SRU secure agreement for two-Test series because that would have suited us better. But maybe this will impact heavily on the likes of Ireland or Wales and we end up benefiting from them having long intense tours and our players coming home in much better shape for the next season."