Rugby: Hit or miss, Paterson is not fazed

By Bill Lothian
Source: Edinburgh Evening News

CHRIS PATERSON insists he'll take the "kick that got away" right at the end of Edinburgh Rugby's 19-21 defeat by Leinster on the chin and move on.

It is a backhanded compliment to Paterson's reliability – 495 successes with the boot for Edinburgh and Scotland in official competition – that one solitary miss should have provoked so much comment, including from opponent Nathan Hines, who said: ADVERTISEMENT"When he took the ball for that last kick I thought that was it, we'd lost."

Bravely fronting up to speak for the first time about the 42-metre effort from almost in front of the posts that just went wide of the left upright, full back Paterson said: "I treated it the same as every other kick.

"By the sound of things nobody else treats it like every other kick."

As well as consistency – this Scottish cap record holder would have made it 20 out of 20 if his latest effort had gone over – Paterson is renowned for analysis of his points harvesting and, in making it clear nothing will change as he prepares to get back in the saddle on Sunday night at Ospreys in the Magners Celtic League, he said: "It was my 19th or 20th kick in a row which was frustrating but I could not have struck it any better which was massively frustrating because it was the last kick of the game. It missed by inches.

"(But) it doesn't make any difference to me if it is the first of the game or first of the second half. I treat it the same as every other kick. That's how I go about these things."

Edinburgh's unbeaten start to 2009-10 disappeared across the Irish Sea to Dublin, and Paterson admitted: "Yes, it was important but every kick in rugby you take is important.

I was hugely frustrated when I missed in Cardiff during the first half and hugely frustrated when I missed in Cardiff in the second half. Kicks to me are all massively important and all the same."

Such remarks give substance to the reputation Paterson justifiably enjoys as the "professional's professional" but even the truly dead-eyed, like him, can miss.

A minute before the only blemish on a six-kick card, Paterson had put Edinburgh into a seemingly impregnable lead only for the referee to check the status of the stadium clock and exercise his right to have it synchronised it with his own – the ref's timepiece being the final arbiter in Magners League matches.

That meant an extra minute for Leinster to successfully complete a salvage operation through a drop goal – not that the 31-year-old was admitting to being disconcerted by the chronological chaos.

"I knew there was time for a kick-off and another couple of plays. We just had to be a little bit smarter at the kick-off. The focus was there but Leinster managed to get the ball back ... and broke us."

But he admitted: "It seems to be that Edinburgh-Leinster matches are pretty close and I remember a few years ago we won in the ninth of tenth minute of injury time against them." In the brouhaha over the dramatic finish, it is perhaps too readily overlooked that Leinster are the reigning Heineken European Cup champions and, with Edinburgh at least gaining a losing bonus point for finishing within a single score thanks in no small part to the 14 points Paterson garnered, they remain top of the table.

"It was frustrating against Leinster because it was the last kick of the game (that separated the sides)" noted Paterson, who rightly said: "But it has been a good start to the season. It was frustrating not to get another victory but we did well to win at Ulster and Cardiff. Three out of four is a good start and the main point is we have not played to our potential.

"The second half against Connacht (62-13 from 20-6 at the interval) was pretty special but we've said that especially winning tough, tough away games while playing below par means if we concentrate and work hard there should be a lot more to come.

"Ospreys are a star-studded side but we have a good record (two wins from the last two visits). We seem to be scoring tries and the back three whether it be myself, Andy Turnbull, Tim Visser or Mark Robertson are involved and we'll keep trying to continue."

In fact, seven of Edinburgh's 13 touchdowns so far have come from the back three also comprising the wingers and the hope is that that can be carried into a fresh challenge that is an opening Heineken Cup clash with new opponents Stade Français across the channel on Saturday week.

While nobody in the Capital squad is looking past Ospreys, Paterson is hoping for a Euro springboard to the second group tie which he was helping promote, against Ulster on Saturday, 17 October at Murrayfield, as part of a leaflet distribution down the Royal Mile.

"The Heineken European Cup is so intense with only four teams in a group and possibly only one going through you can knock yourself out in the first couple of games so it is important to get a winning start," said Paterson, who now stands 13 points clear at the top of the individual league scoring charts with 61 having increased his lead by three.


Source: Edinburgh Evening News