EDINBURGH rugby legend Scott Hastings says his Lions tour experiences in the close company of current Capital coach Andy Robinson finished honours even – and that was before a ball was passed or kicked in earnest on the ultimately successful 1989 campaign in Australia.
"My room-mate Andy made the tea – but then I was the one thrown out for snoring after the first week," joked Hastings.
It has long been a tenet of Scottish rugby that in order to know someone's true capabilities there is nothing to compare with an
extended tour. That was the basis of Scotland's 1984 and 1990 Grand Slam successes as selectors drew on travels abroad to know who would gel into a team.
Similarly, Hastings says it was by heading for the Southern Hemisphere that he first realised from close quarters Robinson had special rugby qualities. And these are the same insights that can lift Edinburgh out of a current trough and place them on the road to Heineken European Cup success, starting against Leinster at Murrayfield on Saturday.
"It's funny how life circles go. I got to know Andy on that Lions tour when we roomed together. Then, when Edinburgh made a Heineken European Cup debut in 1996 it was at Bath and we were rival captains.
"Now Andy is coaching Edinburgh. You couldn't have predicted that when we toured together but I did learn early on that he was a great thinker about rugby. And, from what I hear, Andy continues to inspire his players to think about their own games and about the team performance.
"In any game there is not a lot of room when facing a well structured defence. So when the opportunity comes to make a decision it has to be right.
"It is encouraging that I know the Edinburgh players love working with him and it is now a matter of putting aside a disappointing start to the season and trying to add to European scalps already taken."
Nobody craves Edinburgh success more than Hastings, a former Scottish cap record holder from the Capital, but he knows it won't happen overnight.
"Let's be realistic. It is highly unlikely Edinburgh will go all the way in Europe this season but, in four or five years, who knows what can be achieved?"
Key, according to Hastings, is establishing more of an identity based partly on a ground capable of proving atmospheric.
In turn this could provide the wherewithal to attract experienced overseas talent on a limited scale but capable of lifting younger team-mates.
"Edinburgh has underachieved as a team and there is so much scope within the city to develop a rugby following. Until Edinburgh have their own ground in which to build an intimidating atmosphere it is always going to be harder and maybe such a scenario is five or six years away.
"A first step, though, could be to play some Heineken Cup games at Meggetland, Myreside, Goldenacre, Inverleith or wherever there is the capability to do what Leinster have done and turn the Royal Dublin Showground into an increasingly intimidating arena, partly through erecting temporary seating. Crowds of 5-6000 won't be sufficient to grow the Edinburgh brand and that is frustrating because the team do play some great rugby."
Despite these reservations, Hastings is adamant that qualification for the knock out stages is a possibility.
"Edinburgh lost at Leinster in the league but this is a chance for revenge. If that happens then with a trip to Castres following on then maybe, just maybe, Edinburgh could be sitting on top of the group with two wins by the end of the first couple of games.
"What I do know is Andy Robinson will fire them up and they'll need to be because in (Australian internationalist) Rocky Elsom Leinster have the type of player whose experience can be so vital in the Heineken European Cup."
A gauntlet has been thrown down to the current Edinburgh squad, surely, and doubtless, 19 years on, the teas will be on Hastings to toast his old room-mate if a winning start is made.
The full article contains 692 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
