OVER-SENSITIVITY has always been part of his makeup so it was no great surprise when Frank Hadden took a pot shot at a media messenger this week.

Since Phil Godman has been working hard on his kicking, Scotland's coach should hardly have been surprised to be asked whether that may still be an issue in his selection as Scotland's stand-off.

"Isn't it typically Scottish to look at the negatives, " was Hadden's riposte.

Isn't it just. Some four years ago, when the debate over Chris Paterson's best position was at its height, Hadden, then Edinburgh coach, believed his video analysis provided irrefutable evidence of the player's limitations as a stand-off.

Lack of physical presence was a factor defensively, while there were also concerns about how the player, regarded by many of us then as the most gifted Scot of his generation, caught the ball by bringing it to his chest, rather than out in front of him.

Hadden made his points well, but many of us still felt the positives involved in playing Paterson at stand-off, long before Godman's emergence, hugely outweighed the negatives. I took every opportunity to say so.

Usually when the opinion of commentators conflicts with that of coaches, the argument between theory and practice is unwinnable. Yet the matterwas forced at the 2003 World Cup where emergency circumstances forced Ian McGeechan to overcome his obsession with Gregor Townsend and look elsewhere.

With minimal preparation for the role, Paterson showed astonishing nerve to hold things together in a crucial victory over Fiji.

Thereafter, Hadden's hand effectively forced, Paterson played at stand-off to help earn the coach his greatest success with Edinburgh when they reached the Heineken Cup quarter-finals for the only time. Even this model professional buckled under the pressure during Matt Williams' reign of horror as Scotland coach, though, and Hadden seemed to leap at the chance to return him to the back three.

All of which is relevant now because the Scotland coach must be reminded that those questioning his decisions are not necessarily being negative. Hadden tends to resent being challenged and, while his conviction can be a strength, it is important he does not repeat the mistakes of fellow former school teachers McGeechan and Williams in forgetting how to listen.

The individual who asked about Godman's kicking was, incidentally, a former internationalist whose question was valid. Hadden said that playing Godman at stand-off would be particularly popular with the players, making it legitimate to seek confirmation from one of those with most experience of playing outside him.

"On his day, he's absolutely fantastic and can do things that maybe people aren't quite expecting, but if you play with him every week you see what he's thinking as well. I'm really looking forward to playing with him for Scotland, " enthused winger Simon Webster, an Edinburgh team-mate of Godman's.

"Defensively, people don't realise how good he is; he has a very aggressive style which draws people on to him. He's a threat himself which draws people closer to him and, if he's running across people or looking to distribute, they will hang off him a little bit more because of how he's running.

"He can really threaten and hit the guys that are marking but, at the same time, he can turn and throw a long pass. That gives us a bit more room. Phil's got a great all-round game: he can kick, he can run, he can certainly pass and he can defend really well. He's someone who can call something then, at the very last minute, change his mind and put a pass somewhere else."

That glowing reference suggests Godman may well bring a different dimension to Scotland's play. Yet he could collide with someone at kick-off and need to be replaced.

In which case, guess who will be Scotland's stand off at the start of what Hadden has described as a year-long buildup to the World Cup?

This made it equally legitimate to askWebster what the reserve fly-half - one Chris Paterson no less - might bring.

"Fly halves can be so different, " he said. "You have really good kickers and distributors but you also have those who can run really well themselves and make great breaks.

"It feels like a long time since Mossy [Paterson] played there, but he's another of those who's got all those skills. He can kick, he can pass, he can run and he can tackle, so he's an obvious choice to play fly-half."

Indeed so, and Hadden must be commended for showing the capacity to think again where Paterson is concerned. The hope must be that he and Godman - as well, perhaps, as a revitalised Dan Parks - can demonstrate their play-making skills these next few weeks.

Additional firepower has emerged since the last World Cup in the form of Webster, Sean Lamont, Rob Dewey and perhaps Thom Evans, while Mikey Blair and Chris Cusiter view for the No.9 jersey.

Throw in the option of fielding stand-offs who themselves carry a threat and the power of positive thinking could reap huge rewards.

The teams

Scotland

H Southwell . . . . . . . . . . . . Edinburgh S Webster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edinburgh M Di Rollo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edinburgh R Dewey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edinburgh S Lamont . . . . Northampton Saints P Godman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edinburgh M Blair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edinburgh G Kerr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Border Reivers D Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edinburgh E Murray . . . . Glasgow Warriors N Hines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Perpignan S Murray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edinburgh J White (capt) . . . . . . . . Sale Sharks J Beattie . . . . Glasgow Warriors K Brown . . . . . . . . . . Border Reivers

Substitutes

S Lawson . . . . Glasgow Warriors A Jacobsen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edinburgh C Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edinburgh J Hamilton . . . . Leicester Tigers D Callam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edinburgh C Cusiter . . . . . . . . . . Border Reivers C Paterson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edinburgh

Romania

F Vlaicu (Steaua); G Brezoianu (Metro Racing), C Dascalu (Steaua), R Gontineac (Aurillac), I Teodorescu; I Dimofte (both Arad), V Calafeteanu (Dinamo); P Balan (Biarritz), M Tincu (Perpignan), B Balan (Montauban), S Socol (Agen, capt), C Petre (Brive), F Corodeanu (Grenoble), C Ratiu (Dinamo), O Tonita (Perpignan).

Substitutes: R Mavrodin (Pau), I Paulica (Steaua), C Popescu (Agen), V Urasche (Arad), A Lupu (Steaua), I Tofan (Limoges), C Gal (U Cluj)