Shooting stars to collide at Murrayfield

Published on Thursday 4 September 2008 09:44

ACCORDING to Nat King Cole, Chuck Berry and various other artists, Route 66 is the place to get your kicks.

An alternative for a Celtic League rugby crowd likely to be swelled by some of the 3000 players currently visiting Edinburgh for the world Golden Oldies festival is undoubtedly tomorrow night at Murrayfield Stadium, backdrop to a potential shoot-out between two of the greatest marksmen in the game.

They are, of course, Chris Paterson, who is now back in Edinburgh ranks after a year at Gloucester, and Munster rival Ronan O'Gara.

Who emerges on top in this individual dual could well dictate the outcome and give their team that priceless commodity – early season momentum.

"Yes, it could possibly come down to goal-kicking," is the view of Edinburgh assistant coach Rob Moffat and, while he would obviously want to see his side succeed by scoring tries, the Borderer is more than comfortable to have Paterson in his team's corner for any alternative denouement.

Having been around the Celtic League scene for many years Moffat is well qualified to offer a comparison while understandably more up to speed with Paterson's abilities, having taught him in his previous job as a PE teacher at Galashiels Academy.

What Moffat is certain of is that nobody can prepare better than his former pupil.

"You need an amount of mental toughness to perform as consistently as Chris has done.

"In many respects he is metronomic but the great thing is that if Chris ever misses a kick – and I spend a lot of time gathering up balls in training and punting them back to him – he knows exactly what he did wrong.

"Chris is very similar to a top golfer practising swinging a club. He puts the ball down and does exactly the same thing every time.

"I'd imagine O'Gara is very similar and it is the case that both teams will have somebody who will make the opposition wary of conceding penalties – which is a handy attribute. There is more to both players, though.

"If Chris is to go on the Lions tour to South Africa at the end of the season, and remember, any previous time Ian McGeechan has gone as coach the selection of a kicker has been high on his priorities, he will want to travel as a rugby player who additionally can kick exceptionally well and I think he has that capability. I'd rate Chris a natural rugby player who has worked hard on his kicking and, as for O'Gara, I've been well impressed with a lot of what he has done.

"For example I noticed that he came off the bench for Munster in a recent pre-season friendly and almost straight away slotted a kick from the touchline which is a sign of his ability.

"There's more to O'Gara than that and I well remember last year when Edinburgh lost 16-19 at Munster in a match we ought to have won.

"The result hinged on the way the game was controlled at stand-off with kicks being drilled into the corner so as to make countering with the greasy ball difficult.

"That's the measure of O'Gara and overall this season, regardless of who is around to take advantage, there needs to be an improvement in Edinburgh's tendency to concede penalties around our ten metre line. A disappointment last year was the way we gave away cheap points and we must learn from that to go forward."

Moffat is quick to acknowledge that pre-season friendly wins, however meritorious, ultimately gain no prizes. Nevertheless he is encouraged by form that owes much to sound preparation.

"We're far better winning against the likes of Wasps and Bath than losing to them as part of our build up and I'm content players were allowed to spend time on conditioning before moving out of the gym into working with the ball."

As for Paterson and his kicking, the way a player who'll be making his 150th Capital appearance peaks is crucial according to Moffat. "After returning from the Scotland tour of Argentina I'm hopeful Chris has been able to stand back from goal-kicking a bit.

"He's been through a pretty tough spell (moving to and from Gloucester and switching positions] and, while he missed a couple of kicks at Bath, it was clear he was finding his way back into a rhythm."

Just how effectively Paterson is able to settle into the old points-harvesting routine will soon become clear, but one thing is certain – Munster will not want to concede shots at goal any more than Edinburgh will want to give O'Gara's boot a free reign.