Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Robinson new Scotland head coach

Andy Robinson
Robinson has enjoyed success at the highest level in rugby

Former England coach Andy Robinson will be named as the new head coach of the Scotland national rugby side.

The 44-year-old has left Edinburgh after 20 months to succeed Frank Hadden and will be unveiled at a media conference at Murrayfield on Thursday.

Robinson led Bath to Heineken Cup success before enduring an unsuccessful two years in charge of England where he won just nine of his 22 matches.

Last month he guided Edinburgh to second place in the Magners League.

Robinson made his name as a flanker at Bath, for whom he signed in 1986.

He captained Bath to a league and cup double in 1992 then, five years later, began coaching the side.

As assistant to Sir Clive Woodward, he helped England win the World Cup in 2003, and took over the Twickenham hot seat the following year.

His achievements with Edinburgh have, of course, meant that he has been working under the noses of the Scottish Rugby Union at Murrayfield.

ANDY ROBINSON FACTFILE
1964: Born Taunton, 3 April
1986: Joins Bath
1988: Makes England debut against Australia
1992: Leads Bath to league and cup double in first season as captain
1997: Appointed Bath coach after resignation of Brian Ashton
1997: Sir Clive Woodward installed as his assistant at Bath
1998: Leads Bath to Heineken Cup glory with a 19-18 win over Brive
2000: Appointed assistant England coach
2000: Named as assistant coach for 2001 Lions tour to Australia
2003: Helps England secure the World Cup
October 2004: Appointed England coach
November 2006: Sacked as England coach
October 2007: Appointed Edinburgh coach
May 2009: Leads Edinburgh to second in Magners League

And when it was revealed that Robinson had applied to take over the role vacated by Frank Hadden, who resigned on 2 April after another poor Six Nations campaign, there was no shortage of players endorsing his coaching credentials.

Edinburgh captain Chris Paterson described Robinson as "an outstanding coach", while former Scotland winger Kenny Logan said: "He is a coach who has won the World Cup, Heineken Cup, Grand Slam and Six Nations. We need a man at that level."

It was plain he was held in high regard by the SRU as they assessed applications for the post.

In an interview with BBC Scotland, SRU chief executive Gordon McKie expressed his admiration for Robinson's coaching pedigree, and also stated that he did not think the role had to be filled by a Scot.

Jake White and Eddie Jones, who led South Africa and Australia to World Cup finals, were also on the shortlist, but the five-man panel, comprising Andy Irvine, Andy Nicol, Gordon Bulloch, SRU chair Alan Munro and McKie, have put their faith in a man respected for his leadership and motivational qualities.

Robinson has experience of coaching the Scotland A squad and possesses a detailed knowledge of the Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh set-ups.

His challenge will be to make the most of the resources at his disposal, improve Scotland's lamentable recent Six Nations record and prepare the team for a respectable tilt at the 2011 World Cup.

ะพ 10:31 PM

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