Just as in politics, the keys to No10 are up for grabs as Scotland begin the build-up to the Six Nations Championship. It's not overstating the case to argue that if Andy Robinson can get his selection right in that area, his team have an excellent chance of challenging for honours, because I can see them prevailing over France and England at Murrayfield and beating Wales and Italy away. The biggest test will be tackling the Irish in Dublin, but there is no reason why the Scots can't do themselves proud.
First, though, they must decide on the best man to wear the No10 jersey. It's a big call but, even though he has been performing well for Glasgow in recent weeks, I don't think that Dan Parks will find favour with Robinson, certainly not in his starting XV against the French. Parks operates well within his own parameters, and his kicking skills are well-documented, but he doesn't actually play much rugby, and if he was to earn a Scotland recall, it would limit the attacking options open to the side.
Yes, Glasgow are sitting at the summit of the Magners League, but we haven't seen much from the Evans brothers in the competition, and yet I reckon that Scotland have to bring their back three - which will probably be Rory and Sean Lamont and Max Evans - more into the action, because they have the potential to be one of the best units in the Six Nations.
However, to be effective, they require a decent stream of possession and, although Phil Godman has suffered with injury problems recently, he fared well enough in the autumn Tests to be given the nod for the tussle with France on February 7. The Edinburgh player can create space, he links well with his pack, and basically provides his team with greater variety, particularly against opponents such as Les Bleus, who will relish having the ball kicked down their throats.
In fact, that is one of the main reasons why Godman should gain the nod over Parks in this instance, even if the latter might do a good job against the English and Italians later. It is all to do with momentum and doing the opposite of what your rivals want you to do. The French can be lazy in tracking back if they believe that they will be offered plenty of time to regroup, but if any contest develops into an aerial ping-pong, which is often the case when Parks is running the show, they will use that predictability to dictate the tempo, weigh up their options, and spark havoc from out deep. With Godman involved, they can't afford to be so complacent, because he will mix things up, inter-link with Max and do his utmost to unleash the Lamont boys; it means France can't afford to take anything for granted.
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Opportunities remain for other candidates, though it would be asking an awful lot of Ruaridh Jackson to shove him into the fray when he has only started once or twice for Glasgow this season. I have been impressed with him, on that limited evidence, and I have few doubts that he has qualities which can enhance Scotland, and he would certainly be an unknown quantity outside his homeland. But it might be too much, too soon to pitch him in against the French who, as usual, will be among the championship favourites.
The other option, namely picking Chris Paterson at stand-off, carries less risk because Robinson could ask him to turn out at hooker and he would respond: "Okay, coach, I'll go away and put some weight on!" He is so committed to the cause, he is the best goal-kicker in the world, and will never let his country down. Yet I would persevere with Godman, let him work on his fitness in the next couple of weeks, and pencil him in as a starter in the opening game. Robinson has achieved his first goal of making Scotland difficult to crack; now he has to address the next challenge of sparking life into the backs, as a means of orchestrating more threat moving forward and Godman, on song, has the all-round talent to make that happen in the Six Nations.
There are fewer headaches for Robinson elsewhere in the squad. We have to respect Euan Murray's decision not to play on Sundays [on religious grounds], but there is a good amount of cover in the front row, with the likes of Geoff Cross, Allan Jacobsen, Moray Low and Alasdair Dickinson, perfectly capable of thriving in the heat of battle. In the second row, Nathan Hines and Al Kellock seem to have formed a good partnership, and although the absence of Jason White is a blow, both for the big lad and his country, there is something approaching an embarrassment of riches in the back-row options. John Barclay was immense in his outings against Fiji and Australia, so he is an automatic selection, and Alasdair Strokosch didn't too much wrong in the autumn either.
As for the No8 berth, Johnnie Beattie might not be gaining too many starts at Glasgow but that could work to his advantage because he will be fresh and raring to go come the Six Nations, and if he can maintain his form and work even harder, he has all the attributes to be a powerhouse in the championship stakes. I know there are some people who rate Richie Vernon highly, and he has improved significantly in the last 12 months, but I would opt for a back-row trio of Strokosch, Barclay and Beattie.
Ultimately, it must be heartening for Robinson that he has so many fine players at his disposal. The first match is clearly a huge test, but this imminent campaign isn't something the Scots should fear.
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Four-way fight
How the contenders for Scotland's No10 shirt in next month's Six Nations match up:
Dan Parks (Glasgow Warriors): age 31, caps 47, points 83
Phil Godman (Edinburgh): age 27, caps 20, points 71
Chris Paterson (Edinburgh): age 31, caps 98, points 74
Ruaridh Jackson (Glasgow):age 21, caps 0, points 0