RBS 6 Nations

The 31-year-old will win his 99th cap when France visit Murrayfield on Sunday and he is widely regarded as the best goal-kicker in world rugby.

But Robinson is adamant that naming Paterson at No.15 gives Scotland far more options and is looking for the Edinburgh back to take the attack to Marc Lievremont’s side.

“One of Chris’ strengths is his goal-kicking – that’s a key factor - but he’s not selected just for his goal-kicking,” said Robinson.

“Chris has been selected because of the way he has played at full-back and his counter-attacking ability. That, to me, is important to the way we want to approach this game.

“A lot of sides are kicking the ball and the French will kick at times. We need a player like Chris to have that confidence to run the ball back from the full-back position.

“Chris has been playing particularly well recently and that’s the reason he’s in the team.”