Robinson, the former England head coach who took over from Frank Hadden in June, guided Scotland to a win against Fiji and their first victory over Australia in 27 years.

Despite that success, Scotland only attracted a crowd of 28,292 for their final Test against Argentina, which ended in a narrow 9-6 defeat.

Professional rugby has struggled to gain a foothold in Scotland and Hastings believes a poor national team - their record this decade is 39 wins from 104 Tests - has turned a lot of fans off the sport.

But the former Lions captain has backed Robinson as the man to turn around Scottish rugby’s ailing fortunes both on and off the field.

“When I played, Murrayfield was packed to the rafters but that is because we were successful,” said Hastings, who won the Grand Slam with Scotland in 1990.

“Murrayfield is a pretty big stadium with 67,000 seats and we don’t have 67,000 people who want to go and watch rugby in Scotland.

“The win over Australia was fantastic but I was disappointed at the level of crowd for the Argentina game and the reaction to a wonderful victory.

“Somewhere along the line we have lost the passion for rugby we used to have. Professional rugby hasn’t taken off in Scotland.

“For me, that is the greatest disappointment. Andy Robinson is totally trying to change all of that. That is extremely important and I am delighted Andy Robinson is coaching Scotland.”