Robinson will return to fray at Edinburgh

Andy Robinson, the former England head coach who has been out of the game since losing his job with the national team last November, will today join Edinburgh in a similar capacity.

The move will allow him to return to hands-on coaching – an opportunity he has craved since surrendering responsibility for the England forward pack to John Wells in a back-room reshuffle 18 months ago.

Robinson had been linked with a return to Bath, where he played as a flanker before coaching them to a famous Heineken Cup triumph in 1998, but discussions with the chairman and financier-in-chief, Andrew Brownsword, broke down. He first met Scottish Rugby Union officials in August, after the Edinburgh club was brought back under central control following a serious financial row with a consortium running the team independently of the governing body.

It will be a challenging task for Robinson, who must immediately contemplate a Heineken Cup campaign against three pool opponents – Leicester, Leinster and Toulouse – with legitimate title ambitions.