I will probably never forget where I was that day in February this year, watching the television, mouth agape in sheer shock and even a tinge of horror. Was this some kind of natural disaster or hostage crisis?

Not at all. As a matter of fact, it was worse. I was witness to the brutal and, yet, majestic power of Frank Hadden's Scottish phoenix rising from the ashes of the debacle of Matt William's stint at the helm.

Was it really true? Were my eyes deceiving me? Should, arguably, one of the toughest packs in world rugby after that of England's really be going backwards that fast under the weight of an aggressive Scottish drive?

No, my eyes were not playing tricks. Scotland really did drive Les Bleus back 22 meters. The match really was that of a crippled David defeating a Goliath in his prime. Argue all you want about the inconsistency of Les Bleus, Scotland really did shine. They had a point to prove and boy did they prove it. 

The barely half capacity crowd at Murrayfield and rugby fans around the world stood in shock. Surely this was a blip? Not so.

After that they exposed more than anybody else England's lack of imagination and won back the Calcutta Cup and not only that, they won it back convincingly without having to rely on poor weather or a depleted English side to scrape a win. 

They ran the Welsh ragged and made them work hard for their victory. Scotland pushing Wales hard even with 14 men! And, were it not for some questionable decisions, Ireland would have been the next targets.

Six Nations 2006 really was first time since the glory days of the early 1990s that Scotland really stood up and let the world know that it was here. Sure they had given the All Blacks a scare (the sight of Sean Lamont surging through the All Black line is still probably giving poor Graham Henry and Steve Hansen nightmares as I type this), but nobody had expected this.

Roll on the summer tour to South Africa. Sure Scotland was beaten in the first test and that was it everyone thought. It really was just a blip. Not so, save for a couple of poor refereeing decisions and Scotland really would have tied the series. South Africa was soundly beaten in all but name in the 2nd test. Sadly it is the scoreboard that has the final say in these matters.

On other fronts, at the end of 2005, the Scottish Rugby Union (or SRU) was in financial meltdown. Still reeling from the massive debt incurred from the building of Murrayfield, as well as having to support three regional sides (Edinburgh, Glasgow and Borders) in the Celtic League, everyone knew that something had to give.

However, earlier this week it was announced that through some skilful and innovative thinking (as well as a little appeal or two to national pride), Edinburgh Gunners would be the first franchised Scottish Rugby Club in the professional era.

This has saved the future of at least one club and has provided a rest bite for the other two; however the future does look bright for Glasgow and Borders, too. With more franchises possibly looming, this means more money flowing into the underdeveloped Scottish Rugby scene. 

So what has fuelled this incredible turnaround? First, and foremost, credit must go to the small but highly motivated pool of talented players who have been through a lot in the past 5 years or so.

Looking back at when former school teacher Frank Hadden took control of the reigns after leaving Edinburgh, it seems that everything had come into place and everything clicked. 

Faced with the problem of severe lack of manpower (Scotland has one of the lowest numbers of professional rugby players out of all the major Rugby powers) and knowing that even one injury could throw any plan into disarray, Hadden marshaled his limited resources with intelligence and care.

Rather than use the rather tactless and over-aggressive tactics in man management that were notorious of the Matt Williams era, Hadden's approach was softer and quietly positive. Where Williams seemed to make a major point at every interview that Scotland had to play "within their strengths," Hadden implored his players to play to their very best and beyond.

This approach has led to a far more confident and passionate Scottish side. Players who were previously overlooked like Sean Lamont and Mike Blair suddenly burst into life (to the surprise of the bigger teams on the international stage).

The administration of Scottish Rugby (or rather, the improvement of how Scottish Rugby is administered) has been a major contributor. With quick thinking, the SRU's debt is slowly being reduced. Murrayfield is being used more and more as an entertainment venue in Edinburgh which in turn helps bring in much more money to the SRU's coffers.

Former Welsh Rugby Union Chairman Dave Moffet's quiet revolution in how a Union uses it's assets outside of Rugby has rubbed off big time at the cash strapped SRU. 

Since Scotland won the Calcutta Cup from England in Six Nations 2006, the SRU has skillfully exploited the national team's success to expand the profile of Rugby in Scotland. Unlike in England where the game has degenerated into open war between the Clubs and the RFU, the SRU has made exploited the financial gains from the Calcutta Cup win as possible, and the money has helped boost Edinburgh, Glasgow and Borders.

However, despite this there are still many challenges ahead for Frank's Caledonian machine and the SRU. Rugby in Scotland is only just recovering from the dark days of the early 2000s where crowd attendances at international games fell to dramatic levels even when Scotland faced England (usually a big crowd puller). 

The SRU has done much to address this. Matches have been held at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Perth and even Aberdeen in the North of Scotland to try and spread the gospel about the resurrection of Scottish Rugby. It seems to have worked; tickets are already selling out for most of Scotland's home games for the 2007 Six Nations.

The next 18 months will be vital, for Hadden and his band of merry men will have to show that the phoenix really is rising from the ashes. For the Rugby World Cup, most of the Scottish camp is quietly realistic about their chances. 

What does Frank think? To questions like that he just smiles that quietly confident smile and says that the best is yet to come. And for once the rugby world is sitting up and taking notice.