Andy Robinson has refuted claims he has provided England with extra motivation ahead of this weekend's Calcutta Cup clash.
Scotland supremo denies offering England extra motivation
Scotland coach Andy Robinson has refuted claims he has provided England with extra motivation ahead of this weekend's Calcutta Cup clash at Murrayfield.
The two old rivals do battle in an eagerly-anticipated RBS Six Nations opener on Saturday with both sides heading into the contest with plenty to prove.
The game will be the first outing for either team since a World Cup they will be keen to forget as quickly as possible - Scotland's campaign ended by defeat at the hands of an England team who came in for savage criticism for their performance both on and off the field.
Robinson stoked the fires ahead of Saturday's encounter by branding some members of the England squad "arrogant" for their behaviour in the aftermath of the World Cup win in Auckland, but insists he was merely providing an honest answer rather than ammunition for this weekend's opponents.
"I don't think I've stirred the pot that much," opined Robinson. "I was asked a question and I gave an honest answer.
"What has to be recognised is it was only a handful of the squad that I was talking about and not the whole squad.
Player performance
"I think the other aspect that needs to be understood is that, in my opinion, no coach has ever won or lost a game of rugby - it's about the players that go out and take to the field and the way they go out and perform.
"I'm looking forward to seeing how we perform, how we start in this game and how we can compete for the whole 80 minutes and we want to be able to finish this England team off.
"We're going to be asked serious questions in this game and we've got to be able to come up with the answers."
England head into the game not only looking to implement a new style of play under interim coach Stuart Lancaster, but also mend an image badly damaged by off-field misdemeanours in New Zealand.
Lancaster has been quick to install plenty of fresh faces into his squad along with an apparently authoritarian regime.
"He's done what he's had to do," was the verdict from Robinson.
But the Scotland supremo has left his players in no doubt what he expects from them on the pitch, demanding they be impenetrable in defence and ruthless in attack.
"It's about having a balance to your game," he added. "We've got to be able to have a collective physical mindset in defence and stop England from scoring.
"Secondly, we've got to be able to take the game to them, the speed of ball, the speed of our game, is vital for us."
