Nicky Robinson, James Simpson-Daniel with Monbeg Dude© David Davies/PA Wire

Bristol is Nicky Robinson's priority until the end of the season, but for nine minutes on Saturday, thoughts of his team's fortunes against Plymouth will be sidelined as he watches a four-legged beast gallop around Aintree in the 2015 Grand National.

They say when a player retires from rugby it is fiercely difficult to find a new experience which fills the void of the buzz of a last-minute try or penalty. There is an emotional absenteeism. But when ex-Wales fly-half Robinson is standing, leaping while watching Monbeg Dude - a horse of which he owns one leg - it triggers a similar reaction - the increased beat of the heart, joy or despair and nervousness.

"When he crosses the line, that excitement and jubilation is similar to when you kick a late conversion or a match-winning try. It's similar," Robinson told ESPN. "With the Dude, you're so nervous watching it, you don't really get nervous mid-match. The adrenaline is similar but the nerves are horrendous with the Dude as you can't do anything about it. The crossing the line, the jumping around is similar to the last minute wins. The race days are similar to game days as in the build-up, it's just nerves. And when you lose at rugby, it's similar to when the Dude runs poorly. It takes the edge off your day, or week."

In a week when the anniversary of the Barbarians was celebrated, the purchasing of Monbeg Dude bears a resemblance. The Baabaas were formed at 2am in a Sheffield pub, amid a slightly alcohol-fuelled haze and is similar to the Dude's origins. Mike Tindall and James Simpson-Daniel had been invited to a Cheltenham bloodstock sale and after a beverage or seven, Tindall found himself bidding for the Dude. As legend has it, he was effectively bidding against himself, right arm against left, until £12,000 ticked around and the horse was Tindall's.

Simpson-Daniel took a leg, as did Michael Scudamore and they earmarked their then Gloucester team-mate Robinson as the man to complete the quartet. While his friends were toasting their new purchase, Robinson was at home.

"We had guests around at the time so I couldn't really talk to the chaps, as I didn't want to be rude. I was getting grief from my girlfriend, now wife. So I couldn't really ask the question of 'how much' when someone says to you, do you want to buy a horse? I just said yes. I was hopeful that I hadn't just bought a quarter of a £250,000 horse. I was sure they wouldn't have spent a ridiculous amount."

Buying a horse is not like buying a car, there are numerous variables which twist a horse's fortunes. But in the Dude, they purchased a horse who repaid the individual pledge of £3,000 both in winnings and experiences.

"I was pretty naïve and new to the racing world so I knew little about it," Robinson said. "They told me it would only ever cost me money and even when it won its first race at Cheltenham - something he shouldn't have done as he was bottom weight - people were telling me it wouldn't get any better.

"I was thinking of course it'd get better. But then he won the Welsh Grand National and the way he did going from last to first, it was just incredible. Did I expect to have the thrills? Not a chance. Fellow horse owners have since told me how lucky we have been and how we should never buy another horse. We are incredibly lucky as have I. Tinds [Mike Tindall] missed the Welsh and Cheltenham win but for me, the games fell right and I was able to get there."

Nicky Robinson© Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images

The first tentative steps into the horse racing scene saw the inexperienced trio bluff their way through the early stages, complete with superstition. "When he won his first race at Cheltenham, Sinbad had his first son George with him - mine and Tinds' godson - and he was sucking on a lolly to keep him quiet during the race. For the next couple of races, we brought along a lolly. When he stopped winning, we stopped with the lolly. I have a pair of red socks I wear for the Dude but we stayed with the lolly for four races."

For Saturday's Grand National, squad rotation means Robinson is free to journey north to Aintree. His Bristol side are in Plymouth but Adrian Jarvis has been handed the fly-half reins. "I've had a bit of stick," is Robinson's take on how his team-mates have reacted to how the Gods, or Andy Robinson, have worked the squad rotation at Bristol to permit him to be at their marquee horse racing event come Saturday.

Next term it might not be so easy. Robinson has agreed to join Oyonnax on a three-year deal. It will be more of a long-distance relationship with the Dude next season as rather than making the hop from his Cheltenham home to the racecourse, it'll be from the other side of the Channel.

The hope is he will still be there in person to watch the Dude in the next steps of his adventure. "Ideally I'll come back when he runs. I've been lucky for the last three years at Wasps and Bristol as a lot of our games fell on the Sundays so I could watch the Dude the day previous. It's the first thing we look at when we plan our season. There's no point in owning a horse and not being there to watch him. We've had incredible days out. I have mentioned whether they'd like to bring the Dude over for the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris. The wives would be up for that."

Before thoughts of Oyonnax become his working life, the rugby focus is solely on Bristol with Robinson hoping to play a key role in what they hope will be promotion to the Aviva Premiership. But come Saturday it will about a horse who from alcohol-fuelled, understated origin has become, to his surprise and joy, a bigger part of Robinson's life than he could ever have imagined.

"I'm really excited, it was an amazing buzz to be part of it last year. It was hard to enjoy it for what was the first time as there was a huge amount of media interest in the Dude and the stories behind it. This year we are going there more relaxed.

"He's looking really well, we went to see him on Wednesday. He's looking really lean and relaxed and Mike Scudamore is really pleased with him. There's no reason why he can't give a good account of himself on Saturday. He's had a good year, some good results so we will see what happens."