The wing with the dancing feet was sent to the sin-bin in the first-half for a late barge on Scotland wing Chris Paterson.

But then Robinson, whose mum is Scottish, produced two brilliant tries in the second, one a mesmerising solo touchdown to send the Tartan fans home having suffered yet another demoralising defeat at rugby HQ.

The victory sets up a momentous weekend in Dublin next week after Ireland’s last-gasp victory over Wales left both England and Ireland unbeaten in the RBS 6 Nations Championship on eight points each.

It was a match in which England dominated possession for long periods even if they were frustrated at times by a solid and defiant Scotland team.

But Woodward, in particular, will have enjoyed the huge industry of man-of-the-match Richard Hill and the enterprise of fullback Josh Lewsey, the former soldier who would have been fighting in the Gulf this weekend if he had not opted for full-time rugby a year ago.

Lewsey scored one of England’s four tries with Ben Cohen also weighing in for his 20th touchdown in 24 internationals.

Woodward even had the luxury of resting fly-half Jonny Wilkinson after 66 minutes to give some much-needed action to veteran back-up stand-off Paul Grayson.

Despite wins against France, Wales and Italy, England had struggled to reproduce their best form so far this championship.

But with five players returning, including captain Martin Johnson and veteran flanker Neil Back in the pack and the brilliant Robinson coming back on the wing to allow Lewsey to remain at fullback there was a determined and dangerous look about the England line-up.

As it was England set the scoreboard ticking after just one minute when Wilkinson slotted over a penalty immediately in front of the posts following some forward indiscipline from Scotland.

He repeated the efficiency after 10 minutes with his second penalty which prompted two minutes of madness and naivety from the Scots which saw them reduced to 13 men.

Within seconds of the restart flanker Andrew Mower was sent to the sin-bin for a mid-air hit on centre Mike Tindall which was as blatant as it was reckless.

Incredibly, two minutes later number eight Simon Taylor repeated the crime with an even more foolish barge on Lewsey and referee Alan Lewis had no option but to produce the yellow card once more.

As sometimes happens to depleted sides, the Scots began to operate more effectively and Chris Paterson slotted his first penalty after a thrusting surge.

He added another in quick succession when Robinson was deemed to have blocked him with a late barge – a harsh decision which saw Robinson deposited in the sin-bin and the game reduced temporarily to 14 against 13.

With such a whirl of action it wasn’t surprising that the rugby left something to be desired, though the game’s first thrust of flowing action produced the inevitable first try - the ball swinging swiftly across the threequarters before Tindall fed fullback Lewsey, whose pace took him clear of the Scottish defence and in at the corner.

The Scots, however, at times were ploughing unexpectedly deep furrows in the English defence, highlighted by one bulldozing charge from hooker Gordon Bulloch which was halted only by a courageous tackle from Lewsey.

They were also disrupting much of England’s quick ball and the ease with which the Scots found space must have worried Clive Woodward, even if England did go in with a 16-9 half-time lead courtesy of Wilkinson’s third penalty.

If England were not in total control then they still possess formidable firepower, not least in the shape of their ubiquitous back row of Lawrence Dallaglio, Hill and Back, the latter clearly relishing his roving role.

They also have Cohen, a prolific scorer who demonstrated his opportunism as well as his power by charging down Bryan Redpath’s attempted clearance to dive over for his try.

After 56 minutes Woodward had the chance of seeing how Robinson might fare in midfield when the injured Tindall was replaced by Dan Luger, allowing the dancing Robinson to switch to outside centre.

A fourth Wilkinson penalty took England 26-9 clear half-way through the second-half and suddenly it was all beginning to seem a good deal easier.

A superb 50 metres solo touchdown showed Woodward the potential of Robinson from midfield and

the England coach must wonder whether that is his best position after seeing him turn up on the shoulder of Matt Dawson to scamper in for his second try.

It is that sort of scoring talent which will make England favourites to exact revenge on the Irish next Sunday for the Grand Slam humiliation at Lansdowne Road two seasons ago.