Scotland boss Robinson closes on Rugby World Cup squad

“It will all come down to what’s best for us looking at the preparations.”

Barclay made his Scotland debut in the 2007 World Cup but Rob Harley, David Denton, Ryan Grant and Jack Cuthbert – the four uncapped players in the provisional squad – are likely to earn their first caps in August if they are in contention for the squad.

“They’re doing well, they’ve got some cracking characters,” said Robinson of the uncapped players.

“David Denton and Rob Harley have worked well together, but also they’ve got different attributes and it’s great to see the desire that they have to get in the squad.”

Scotland will hold a training camp in Australia before their opening World Cup Pool B match with Romania on 10 September in Invercargill.

Four days later Scotland play their second match against Georgia before the game against Argentina on 25 September and the final group match against England, in Auckland on 1 October.

Robinson knows his side are capable of winning the group but also slipping up.

He added: “All the games are going to be challenging. We’ve got to focus on that first challenge, plus playing Georgia after that.

“The way the fixture schedule has worked out we’ve got two close games, then we’ve got a 10-day window to do some training in Wellington before we play against Argentina.”

Meanwhile, Robinson praised the work of Gordon McKie, who earlier this month resigned as Scottish Rugby’s chief executive., external

He said: “I want to thank him for the opportunity he afforded me, firstly with Edinburgh and also to become the Scotland head coach.

“He leaves the union in a really good place, because he’s put the building blocks in place for Scottish rugby to grow and he should be thanked for that.”