There are two ways to go as an acting England head coach: either you sit back and let your track record do the talking or you grasp the bull by the horns and shout your ambitions to the skies. One glance at Andy Robinson yesterday, dressed in unfamiliar dark city suit and natty tie, was all it took to suspect the Rugby Football Union will look no further for Sir Clive Woodward's permanent replacement.
Gone was the brooding 'Mr Grumpy' persona which the 40-year-old Robinson has sometimes adopted in times of stress, abandoned in favour of corporate-sounding certainty and even gung-ho rhetoric. After four years of sitting alongside Woodward, his would-be successor has clearly decided this is no time for bushels and hidden lights.
If he can replicate his smooth performance in Bagshot yesterday at his scheduled presentation next week to a five-man Rugby Football Union panel - which will include the Lions manager Bill Beaumont and his predecessor Fran Cotton - there seems little doubt that Robinson will be sworn in prior to England's Tests against Canada, South Africa and Australia in November. In that event those who have previously cast him as a poor man's Tord Grip may be in for a surprise.
For a start Robinson is acknowledging he may even soften his parade ground bark in order, as he put it, to reintroduce "some spark and buzz" in a side beaten in five of their last six Tests. He also laid into England's recent backline efforts - "our back play has to improve, let's make no bones about it" - and suggested the entire squad, coaching staff included, had gone into their shells since the World Cup.
Given he has been intimately involved in preparing a team with such a shaky recent record, such criticism might be seen as risky for an internal candidate. But Robinson, rightly, has recognised there is no point being economical with the truth at this crucial point in England's rebuilding process. "Of the last six games we've lost five, so we have to do something different," he said yesterday, claiming the World Cup winning squad had, among other things, become constricted by "a fear of losing."
His preferred solution might also seem a touch ironic, coming as it does from a coach renowned for his intensity and work ethic. "I want to take the shackles off, in terms of the burden and expectation," he insisted. "If I come across as having that burden I don't think we'll be successful. I want to enjoy this. If you're going to get the best out of me I've got to be enjoying it and I want to enthuse the coaching team and the players. With Clive going and Lawrence going, it means we can have a fresh approach and learn from the lessons of the last six months."
Robinson's passion and patriotic qualities have never been in question but before he gets round to choosing a team and a captain - his stated preference is for a long-term skipper which will shorten the odds on Jonny Wilkinson - he still has to persuade the panel, chaired by the former England back John Spencer, that there is no point in wooing any outside candidates.
The RFU's chief executive Francis Baron is already promising a "reasonably quick" decision and reiterated that Robinson remained "in pole position" for the lead role in whatever tweaked structure he proposes. All concerned also seem to recognise that waiting until after the November internationals to make a permanent appointment could easily prove counter-productive. "I'd like the decision to be made before then," confirmed Robinson. "I firmly believe I'm good enough to do the job and my presentation to the management board will underline that. I've got every confidence in myself."
Ever since his late father Ray contracted multiple sclerosis at the age of 36, Robinson has also learned the value of living for the present and seizing the day. "I've got to do it my way but I worked with Clive in developing the structure and the coaching team we have." What he will do differently is talk more often to the club directors of rugby, with whom Woodward was barely on speaking terms by the end.
In fact, short of ripping off his shirt to reveal a T-shirt slogan declaring 'give me the job now', Robinson could hardly have been more enthusiastic. As yesterday's presentation broke up, he spotted a female photographer editing a digital image of him. "Any chance of making me look thinner?" he asked good-humouredly. Only men of real substance crack that sort of joke.
Three games to make his name
England v Canada: November 13
The first game under Robinson and he will be grateful that it is only the Canadians in opposition. They should not pose too much of a threat for a transitional England.
England v South Africa: November 20
South Africa are a different team to the one trounced 53-3 at Twickenham two years ago. They have rebuilt and are the Tri-Nations champions.
England v Australia: November 27
The memories of the World Cup final victory in Sydney are fading fast. Australia hammered England 51-15 in June and will be confident of a repeat performance.
