It is almost four years since Andy Robinson and Matt Williams first came face to face as rival head coaches. At that time, they were both in charge of national teams. Since then they have both been sacked, and both found redemption and the chance to rebuild their reputations in Magners League club rugby. Tonight, they renew that rivalry.

Not that there was any doubt who won the contest the first time round when Robinson was in charge of England and Williams was running Scotland. The 43-22 scoreline in March 2005 was emphatic enough, but when it was followed by persistent reports that the Scotland players had salvaged some pride only after they had taken it on themselves to tear up the Williams game plan, it was obvious that his days in charge of the side were numbered.

Tonight, Williams makes his first return to Murrayfield since that fateful day at Twickenham, and it will not have escaped his attention that his Ulster side is up against a team again coached by Robinson. Just another of the many factors that makes sure Williams and his province are not short of motivation when it comes to producing a win.

“We have come across each other a few times,” Robinson said. “We know each other pretty well and I know he is a quality coach. That is borne out by the way his teams have played and been coached, and that includes Scotland. While they did not get the results, they played in a good way.”

Williams has adopted much the same policy at Ulster that he did with Scotland, throwing out a lot of the older players and bringing in a host of youngsters. They may have taken a while to settle to the demands of the top flight but, now that they have the experience, they are reaping the reward - as the trouncing of Munster at Thomond Park last weekend proved. We will never know whether he could similarly have reversed the early run of defeats had he been given more time with Scotland.

His reliance on youth is something that the likes of Allister Hogg, the Edinburgh flanker, appreciates. He was one of the youngsters that Williams blooded and now, at the ripe old age of 25, he is a 45-cap veteran despite playing in the back row, the most competitive unit in the Scotland team.

“I played every game when he was in charge,” he pointed out. “A lot of people latterly were struggling with him but I was not one of them. He put a lot of faith in me early in my career and I would not be in the same position if he had not taken a gamble on me. The same with a few others, a lot of the Scotland team now got their first caps under him, I was not complaining.”

The biggest factor, according to Hogg, is that the players Williams coached when was in charge of Scotland should have a good insight into his tactics and likely strategies, which might give Edinburgh a slight edge in tonight's game.

“We know his philosophy, how he wants his team to play. Speaking to people, he is still of a similar mindset so we will have a rough idea what to expect,” Hogg said. “Apart from that, his history is not really relevant to this game. He is just the coach of Ulster.”

The two teams go into tonight's game in radically different frames of mind. The same weekend that Ulster were producing a record-breaking win in Limerick, Edinburgh were failing to capitalise on their derby domination over Glasgow, so it is not just the coaches but the players who have their reputations on the line this time.

Edinburgh: H Southwell; A Turnbull, B Cairns, J Houston, S Webster; P Godman, M Blair (capt); A Jacobsen, R Ford, G Cross, C Hamilton, J Hamilton, S Cross, R Grant, A Hogg. Replacements: A Kelly, G Kerr, B Gissing, S Newlands, G Laidlaw, D Blair, N De Luca.

Ulster: C Schifcofske; A Trimble, D Cave, P Wallace, M McCrea; I Humphreys, Isaac Boss; T Court, R Best (capt), BJ Botha, E O'Donoghue, M McCullough, S Ferris, D Pollock, R Diack. Replacements: N Brady, J Fitpzatrick, F Paulo, K Dawson, P Marshall, P Steinmetz, B Cunningham.

Referee: G Morris (Wales).