Six Nations 2013: Scotland's Ruaridh Jackson revels in the fun that Scott Johnson has put back into their game During his time in charge it was almost a talking point if Robinson picked the same half-backs from one game to the next. The closest he came to consistency was in giving a run of games at fly-half to Greig Laidlaw, who had only just moved to the position from scrum-half. Johnson's first act was to put Laidlaw back in the No 9 shirt. His second was to issue a recall to Ruaridh Jackson, who had not started a game for Scotland since the 2011 World Cup, and install him at fly-half. And after that he just told the pair of them to do what they were good at. Oh, he also told them to enjoy themselves while they were at it. And that was just fine by Jackson, a player who relishes the positive approach. "Everyone knows Scott is very jovial, and some of the stuff he comes out with seems strange at times," the 25-year-old explained. But there is always a method to his madness, whereas Robbo maybe seemed a lot more serious all the time. Every coach is different and it is about getting that balance right. Johnno has come in with a good, fresh approach, and is trying to get some enjoyment back in the camp. And getting us to relax, because pressure does mount up on you when you are losing games. The good fairy who blessed Jackson at birth with an abundance of natural talent brought along an evil sister who cursed him with a tendency towards self-doubt. He burst on the scene with a precocious performance for Glasgow in a Heineken Cup match against Bath five seasons ago, but those 80 minutes at the Rec set expectations at a level he was never going to meet. Not every week at least. Last year was his annus horribilis. Jackson had a couple of outings as a replacement in the Six Nations, but was left off Scotland's summer tour to Australasia, with Robinson explaining that he needed to work on his game. But on the age-old principle that you are strengthened by the petty adversities that do not break you, he came through smiling at the end. The delicious irony of it all was that Robinson's last act was to drop him from the squad that played Tonga. Away from the Test bubble, he played a club match with Dundee, an experience that reminded him that chasing a ball around a field was meant to be fun. He was then restored as Glasgow's first-choice playmaker, and he has had two solid months of consistent displays since. "I think I've not necessarily changed wholeheartedly as a player," Jackson said. But I've certainly learned a few things and I'm certainly stronger mentally with what I've been through in the last couple of seasons with injury, dips of form and being in and out of squads. His performance against England in this year's first Six Nations outing was low key, but his response the next week against Italy was heartening. He created Scotland's first try with a sublime dummy and a deft, scooped pass to Visser, but most of what he did was just the sort of solid and error-free shift, efficiently linking forwards and backs, to restore his confidence to where it should be. He would have been happy to play Ireland this weekend, not next. Strike when the iron is hot and all that. "We know that if we play well the results will come, and we're buying into that," he said. We don't want that one result to be a flash in the pan. Precisely. Eighty-nine years can be a heck of a long wait after all.