No fear’ insists Robinson ahead of first match in charge of Scotland

ANDY ROBINSON yesterday insisted he had no fears about his return to Test rugby and nothing to prove to anybody as he prepared for his first match in charge of Scotland.

Robinson will be at the helm of an national team today for the first time since quitting as England head coach three years ago.

The 45-year-old has had plenty of time to prepare himself for Scotland’s opening autumn international against Fiji since his appointment in June.

And he is determined to enjoy every minute of it. Asked if he had any trepidation, he simply answered: “No.”

Neither did he feel he had anything to prove at the highest level, despite his disastrous reign as England boss, which saw him win only nine of his 22 Tests.

“I’m not here to prove anything to anybody,” he said.

“Our focus has got to be on how we perform; I’m not in the middle, I’ll not be entering the arena to play and, with that, I will have no influence on what points we score and how we score them.

“It’s down to the decision-making of the players and they’re ready for it.”

Yet, the attention will inevitably be on Robinson as the man responsible for reviving Scotland’s ailing fortunes.

“You just deal with it,” he said of being in the spotlight.

“I’m here to lead the team as head coach and I’ll lead the team as head coach.”

Being in the home dressing room at Murrayfield is nothing new for Robinson, who spent almost two years in charge of Edinburgh prior to his appointment.

Fiji are without five first-choice players after their European clubs refused to release them.

Robinson said of Fiji: “I think they’ve picked a good side. There are players playing in form, particularly the players playing in France.

“Nicky Little, Akapusi Qera – playing in England – are players that if you looked at a highlights package over the first few months of European rugby, they’d be in them because they’ve performed really well.”

Mike Brewer returns to Murrayfield mere months after his departure as Scotland forwards coach.

Now Fiji’s technical director, the former New Zealand international began the pre-match mind games yesterday by saying he wanted to “destroy” Robinson’s men.

He also claimed the visitors would win if it was sunny and lose if it rained.

Robinson refused to be drawn into a war of words, but said: “We’ll deal with the conditions as they are.”

He also revealed he now plans to “stay away” from his players until shortly before kick-off in order to “give them their own space”.