There may have been plenty of new faces on show at Murrayfield yesterday, but writing in The Scotsman Richard Bath says there were plenty of old failings on show.
"This was billed as a spectacular welcome to the dawn of the new-look Scotland. There was a new coach, new newcomers, new skipper and the new sound of Andy Robinson spontaneously combusting in the goldfish bowl for much of the second half. And no wonder the man charged with reviving Scotland's fortunes was feeling the heat – if there was much that was new yesterday, the same old frustrations were there in spades.
"If there were only a limited number of pointers to the long-term shape Robinson's new Caledonian order will take, it was hugely refreshing that he was willing to blood a whole raft of players. If he couldn't match Fiji, who had five new caps on the pitch and the same number on the bench, this was nonetheless the most significant mass initiation of Scotland players since Derrick Grant fielded half a dozen debutants in Jeremy Campbell-Lamerton, Finlay Calder, David Sole, the Hastings brothers and Matt Duncan for what turned out to be a momentous Five Nations win over France in 1986.
"Yesterday wasn't as drastic, or as successful for that matter, as that seminal 1986 match, which proved to be a watershed in Scotland's fortunes. But Robinson's first match at the helm was nonetheless unprecedented in recent years."
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