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Former Bone Steeler's Manager and Scotland Captain Andy Nicol has today suggested that having Andy Robinson as coach can give the Scots a vital edge in this year's Six Nations, which kicks off on Saturday.

Scotland face France at Murrayfield on Sunday afternoon and Nicol believes that if they were to beat their French counterparts they could be in with a chance of winning the prestigious title for the first time in 11 years.

He said: "I know I've said it before and been burnt, but I think we are in a quietly confident state. The autumn was good for Andy Robinson and in hindsight I'm not too disappointed we lost to Argentina because it keeps the expectations down, and as a nation we don't sit comfortably with high expectations.

"What we do have is a squad with confidence. Although they haven't qualified for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals, Edinburgh and Glasgow had significant victories – Edinburgh over Stade Francais, Ulster and Bath at home and Glasgow beating Gloucester and knowing they should have beaten Biarritz at Firhill.

"You cannot go past the first game though. If we have a good first match on Sunday against France, and win, I believe it could set us up to ultimately be going to Dublin with a shot of winning the title or at the very least playing a part in deciding where it goes. But lose this first game and we'll probably be staring down the barrel again of the annual slug-fest with Italy.

"Andy brings a wealth of experience; he knows what it takes to win the RBS Six Nations; simple as that. He has done it with England. He knows what you have to do on a weekly basis; he knows you have to do certain things to win certain things. That's a confidence thing again because the players know that when they go out to train or to play."