Not least because of the venue, it is a remarkable twist of fate that Dan Parks returns from Test exile while Chris Paterson becomes the first Scot to reach the 100-cap mark at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on Saturday.

It was at the same ground that Parks made his international debut six years ago at the start of the unhappiest episode in Paterson’s decade-long Test career.

Scotland were already in deep trouble when Parks took the field 46 minutes into a championship opener in which Paterson was over-burdened with responsibility. He had assumed the captaincy for the first time just after having taken over as the main goal-kicker the previous year, while also taking on the playmaking duties at stand-off.

The planning was a shambles, with the selection of Andy Henderson on the wing a particular blunder which resulted in what looked like constant 
reshuffling of the back division that day.

That was the start of Matt Williams’ reign.

There are still much higher hopes of the second non-Scot to become Scotland’s head coach, but Sunday’s defeat was a significant setback for Andy Robinson. Admittedly the impression was that he was always more confident about the meeting with Wales because Scotland’s players are so much more familiar with those they meet regularly in the Magners League. There is now, though, much riding on this match and for all that he said before the championship that he would have specific tactics for away matches, Robinson surely never envisaged, when he got off to his fine start as head coach in the autumn, that he would be turning to Parks at this stage.

“We need a balance between playing with ball in hand and understanding the territorial game,” he explained, however.

“We played too much rugby in our own half against France and the most important outcome from that was that we turned over a lot of ball to them in our own territory. You can’t do that against such good opposition.

“I have talked consistently with Phil [Godman] about that, so Dan is in. We have been looking at this option because Dan has been consistent with Glasgow.

“It was down to what we saw last weekend. I see Dan being brought in not purely as a kicker. We won’t win in Wales by kicking the ball in the air. Wales have a good counter-attacking team and have good length of kicks from the back-field. Dan understands when to kick . . . also that it is important for him to move the ball.”

For his part, the stand-off who was being allowed to negotiate his departure from Glasgow Warriors just as he became the first player to register 1000 Magners League points, could not have anticipated at that time, just a few weeks ago, that he would be putting in this advance appearance in the Welsh capital.

“I am delighted to be going to Cardiff. It is where I won my first cap and despite losing that day, it was a memorable occasion. I am looking forward to going back with the hope of a different result,” said Parks.

Robinson does not seem to be one for sentimentality, so a combination of the reintroduction of Parks, offering another top-class goal-kicker, and Rory Lamont, who started at full-back through the autumn Tests, adds to the honour for cap centurion Paterson. Clearly he has been selected wholly on merit as a high-class rugby player, not because someone else is injured and not just because of his world class goal-kicking ability.

Elsewhere, the reintroduction of Euan Murray ought to make a difference in the setpiece, albeit Ally Dickinson’s retention, which suggests that the scrummaging problems against France have mainly been apportioned to Moray Low, was something of a surprise.

So, too, is the decision to drop the live-wire Max Evans in favour of adding raw power to the midfield as Sean Lamont moves infield to accommodate brother Rory’s return on the wing. However, Robinson’s explanation of those changes underlined the impression that he is re-assessing his players’ capabilities at Test level.

“He [Sean Lamont] is in there to do a job. It is where we are,” he said.

There is one additional significant change to the 22, with Mike Blair recalled to the bench. The British & Irish Lions tourist looked a bit off the pace playing for Scotland A in Belfast on Friday, which was hardly unexpected considering he had been sidelined for almost three months. Indeed, his rapid promotion back into the senior squad is rather more of a surprise.

That speaks to the status within the squad of the man Robinson made Edinburgh captain two years ago, then co-captain of the national squad for that autumn series which ended prematurely for Blair when he suffered an ankle injury in the opening game against Fiji.

Rory Lawson, who did so well for an hour against Australia, would seem entitled to feel aggrieved since he was given no chance to affect Sunday’s proceedings, but clearly Robinson wants those he has identified as the most influential figures around him in this very important week.