Hail the kicking king (49)
- 6 Oct 07, 11:28 AM
Paris - 鈥淓very team needs a Chris Paterson鈥, said a television commentator as the pinpoint Scottish kicker landed another penalty in the last weekend.
And how right he is.
For the 30-year-old is one of the prime reasons Scotland are facing a quarter-final clash with Argentina on Sunday rather than joining Wales and Ireland on the plane home.
His contribution to the Scottish cause cannot be underestimated. So far in this World Cup, Paterson has scored 41 of his side鈥檚 116 points 鈥 including all six penalties in the win over Italy that put Scotland into the last eight.
In fact he has not yet missed a place kick at goal all tournament 鈥 with 15 out of 15 attempts going over.
No wonder he was surrounded by the media at Scotland鈥檚 tower-block hotel base in Paris on Friday after coach Frank Hadden announced his .
鈥淚 do get embarrassed with all the things I read about me kicking,鈥 said a modest Paterson, who will win his 81st cap this weekend. 鈥淚 want to go out there and try and score tries, I offer more than just kicks.
鈥淚 have kicked for five or six years now and the pressure is just something you learn to deal with. Every kick you take is under scrutiny, if you miss the next one you are a bad kicker so I just trust what I do in training.鈥
It is not just in the World Cup that "Mossy" has shone.
In this year鈥檚 Six Nations for example he scored 65 of Scotland鈥檚 95 points and landed 22 of his 25 attempts at goal. A success rate of 88%. Last year it was 89% with 17 out of 19.
He now needs 58 points to overtake Gavin Hastings as Scotland鈥檚 leading points scorer.
But can he explain why his kicking has been so consistent?
鈥淣ot really,鈥 he told 主播大秀 Sport. 鈥淚 practise as I鈥檝e practised for the last four or five years. I will do something every day.
鈥淚 do not put a time limit on it. I kick until I am feeling comfortable. Sometimes when I am kicking badly in training I just walk in. There is no point in pushing it and developing bad habits. I stay out until I am comfortable that I can take it out on to the field.
鈥淧eople have to realise that kicking is a duty you are asked to do, you do the best you can, there will be kicks missed and kicks got. It鈥檚 about evaluating and hoping they go over.鈥
Scotland鈥檚 victory over Italy maintains their proud record of always reaching at least a World Cup quarter-final but Paterson seems a little frustrated that his side have not really played with much attacking flair.
鈥淯ndoubtedly there is more to come from us,鈥 he added. 鈥淲e have not shown our hand at all.
鈥淲e scraped through to the quarter-finals and let鈥檚 hope we can get in the semi by playing good rugby. Will we open up? It depends how the game goes. We were all set to open up against Italy but there was a monsoon before kick-off.
鈥淭o beat a team as good as Argentina, ranked fourth in the world, you have to play well and cause their defence difficulties. You have to be reasonably expansive, offload and take chances.
鈥淚t is the quarter-finals of the World Cup, you don鈥檛 want to go home not having tried something.鈥
Scotland have not made it to the last four of a World Cup since 1991 and Hadden says that matching that this year would be a huge fillip for Scottish rugby 鈥 especially with all the strife in the domestic game this year.
Magners League side at the end of last season while control following a summer of turmoil.
鈥淲e have had a fair bit of upheaval in Scottish rugby over the last few years and we haven鈥檛 taken smoothly to professionalism,鈥 Hadden told 主播大秀 Sport. 鈥淲e have had some very difficult times.
"We are very proud of our record of going to every single World Cup quarter-final 鈥 and it鈥檚 important for the people of Scotland to believe they had a team that was capable of emulating previous sides.
鈥淲e are one of only five countries in the world that has done that and yet Madagascar has more people playing rugby than we have. To win this week will raise the profile of the game in our country.鈥
Following their victories over France and Ireland in the pool stages, Argentina are favourites to overcome Scotland at the Stade de France but all week they have highlighted the danger of the Scotland number 11, and with Paterson in such impressive form with the boot, who can blame them.
Mark Orlovac is a 主播大秀 Sport journalist based in London. He will be based in Paris for the knockout stages of the Rugby World Cup.
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World's best place kicker.
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After Wilkinson missing another 3 drop goals and either 2 or 3 kicks there is no doubt that it's not him anyway. Without him the Poms would have won by more. But the Ingelaaaanders just dont see it and they forget he also missed 3 drops in the last RWC final. Barkley or Flood far better place kickers.
Paterson's kicking is clearly the best ever - albeit he is not the longest kicker.
Is Kit Heron Ingelishhhhh ??? Or a relative of Dan Parks who presumably is now with a similar 100% record the 2nd best place kicker in the world... Eh no.
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he aint got nothing on jonny
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Isn't this all a bit irrelevant now - England for the cup?
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Hardly "world's best" but certainly best in form right now. What's interesting is the different styles between him and all of the world's best kickers. I like Patterson's "no nonsense" approach and execution. Compared to Jonny boy tonight who lined up for 2 or 3 kicks at least 2 yards ahead of the ball!! Bizarre....running backwards to kick the ball forward...which he subsequently pushed to the left then. I'm sure he'll be examining the video replays himself to see this after the game tonight. Still think Carter on his day finds his target like no other. He tends to kick straight rather than bend or float the ball which is almost a thing of beauty to watch sometimes.
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no offence but they only won by scoring penalties, it takes a good team to at least score a try
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Certainly is.
Though despite missing 3 drop goal attempts again today (exactly as he did in last RWC final) you will no doubt find some Poms lauding Jonny W; who also missed 2 or was it 3 place kicks. His kicking from hand was also atrocious and he nearly lost the Poms the game.
Keep it going tomorrow Chris; as sadly that is our best chance of a win.
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"After Wilkinson missing another 3 drop goals and either 2 or 3 kicks there is no doubt that it's not him anyway"
Way to take a pop at wilkinson after he's just scored all the points to beat the aussies!!!!
Good luck to Scotland.. would be great to have two northern hemisphere teams in the semis.. maybe even three if France can do a job on the AB's.. what a weekend of rugby!!
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Paterson is a fantastic kicker. He would be an asset to any side in the world. As for Scotland's chances against Argentina, England have just shown what it is possible for underdogs to achieve in their HUGE and ENTIRELY DESERVED shock win over Australia. Congratulations, England and Come On, Scotland!!
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I'm glad to see Paterson so widely hailed he has been a god send to Scotish and Edinburgh rugby, his trip to gloucester will hurt the capital team but probably strengthan him, i hope his display against the argy's will help us...
Long live mossy!
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sour grapes.. very sour.. England were magnificent
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2/3 - can I hear the sound of dummies being spat out?
England can ONLY win by kicking penalties, over the overwhelming favourites, but it's fine for Scotland to win in the same way.
Besides, if a pack is stuffed/crucified/overwhelmed in such a way and has to resort to giving away penalties, what does the attacking side do? Resort to a game of 7s?
No offence you say? Garbage!
"Ingelaaaanders" - a little decorum please, we don't expect hearty congratulations from everyone but maybe a little credit where it's due.
Michael Lynagh, a true rugby great, was big enough to hold his hand up and say that England (try the spellchecker) deserved this victory.
Pity you're not!
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In reply to kj:
Can we expect no praise for England's win today given their points all came from a kicker and the only 'good team' (your words not mine) were Australia?
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patterson has a great average,but his all round contribution to the game is not as good as others mentioned in this thread.
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patterson has a great average,but his all round contribution to the game is not as good as others mentioned in this thread.
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No Joe H he aint nothing on Jonny - we dont want a guy who missed 3 drops and 3 place kicks - dropped the ball and kicked poorly from hand. His kicking stats this tournament are awful.
He nearly lost you the game so open your eyes to reality. Barkley and Flood far better kickers.
And kj you are right - as much as it pains me he is our main danger and we are very poor at scoring tries against good teams - exactly like England our game is very forward dominated.
But winning by kicking penalties has never bothered England and although I would like to see us win with style we simply have to play a tight game - 3 0 v Arg would do !!!
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In reply to kj's post:
Use of the work 'they' suggests your probably English. Can we expect critism of Englands win today over the only 'good team' (your words not mine) Australia?
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A Paterson ball gathers no moss. Good luck to Scotland; the second UK team in the quarter finals. However, to be realistic, they will have to play out of their skins to beat the Argies; SO -- COME ON YOU SCOTS. An England supporter
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No Joe H he aint nothing on Jonny - we dont want a guy who missed 3 drops and 3 place kicks - dropped the ball and kicked poorly from hand. His kicking stats this tournament are awful.
He nearly lost you the game so open your eyes to reality. Barkley and Flood far better kickers.
And kj you are right - as much as it pains me he is our main danger and we are very poor at scoring tries against good teams - exactly like England our game is very forward dominated.
But winning by kicking penalties has never bothered England and although I would like to see us win with style we simply have to play a tight game - 3 0 v Arg would do !!!
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no offence taken, kj. It takes a real rugby fan to appreciate that England absolutely murdered the Aussies tonight. The Aussie commentators were trying to make something of the one try, but like the team, they know it means nothing. The important thing is who is on the plane home and who is lining up next week. The Aussies would have happily traded the try and all the hurt for a start next week. Listen to Tuqiri's post-match interview, he knows exactly what his try was worth.
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well put spooner. england were deserved winners. the pack was magnificent and far more ferocious at the breakdown and the backline broke down one of the worlds best defences a number of times. england showed some true courage after being written off which can only be applauded. johnny was having a bad day from the tee and england still won. had he been on form it would have been more. the english were better in every facet of the game. it is funny that aussies always state that england can only win because of johnny and blindly ignore the sublime running of the likes of Robinson and the fact that england won almost despite johnnys kicking. even ben tune, an ex-wallaby winger, applauded englands running game in the first half. it is a pity some austrlians are too biased to see this. perhaps they have been watching too many replays of the shameful way in which australian prime minister john howard behaved at the 2003 medal ceremony. as a proud citizen of both Australia and england it would be nice to see some respect and humility where it is due instead of the monotonous accusations of "england only win through johnny etc." open your eyes australia, you were beaten by a better team on the day
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well put spooner. england were deserved winners. the pack was magnificent and far more ferocious at the breakdown and the backline broke down one of the worlds best defences a number of times. england showed some true courage after being written off which can only be applauded. johnny was having a bad day from the tee and england still won. had he been on form it would have been more. the english were better in every facet of the game. it is funny that aussies always state that england can only win because of johnny and blindly ignore the sublime running of the likes of Robinson and the fact that england won almost despite johnnys kicking. even ben tune, an ex-wallaby winger, applauded englands running game in the first half. it is a pity some austrlians are too biased to see this. perhaps they have been watching too many replays of the shameful way in which australian prime minister john howard behaved at the 2003 medal ceremony. as a proud citizen of both Australia and england it would be nice to see some respect and humility where it is due instead of the monotonous accusations of "england only win through johnny etc." open your eyes australia, you were beaten by a time better team on the day
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IT'S ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT TO PUT ONE OVER ON THE AUSSIES..THEY HAVE A MASSIVE COMPLEX ABOUT THE ENGLISH, CONSTANTLY TELLING US HOW WE ARE ARROGANT, THINK WE'RE BORN TO RULE, CAN'T PLAY RUGBY, WORST WORLD CHAMPIONS EVER ETC ETC AND WHAT GET'S ME IS THAT IN MOST OF THE POSTS I HAVE READ THE ENGLISH FANS HAVE BEEN RESERVED, FAIR, AND GIVEN CREDIT TO THE AUSSIES AND THE NZ BUT THE AUSSIES ESPECIALLY HAVE FILLED THIER POSTS WITH WHINGING POMS AND BAD LOSERS ETC...WELL LETS SEE IF WE HAVE ANY AUSTRALIANS THAT CAN GIVE ENGLAND THE CREDIT FOR DESTROYING THEIR PACK AND FORCING THEIR USUALLY EXCELLENT BACKS INTO KNOCK AFTER KNOCK ON...CAN'T SCRUMMAGE, CAN'T KICK, CAN'T TACKLE, CAN'T PASS...THAT'S ALL I HEARD ABOUT ENGLAND FROM THE AUSSIES..WELL TRY TO BE MAGNANIMOUS IN DEFEAT AND ADMIT THAT ENGLAND WON BECAUSE THEY OUT PLAYED THE AUSSIES AND WANTED IT MORE..IN SHORT...ENGLAND WERE BETTER THAN AUSTRALIA TODAY!
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I think Paterson is as accurate a kicker as you will see but not a natural 10. Wilko and Carter have been complaining about the ball during this WC and to be honest, some of the kicks that have been missed, you have to believe them. The ball does make a good kicker look a little daft. Still fancy Argies will do Scotland, goal kicking aside, Argentina have too much in attack for Scotland to handle. Good luck to them though!
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no offence taken, kj. It takes a real rugby fan to appreciate that England absolutely murdered the Aussies tonight. The Aussie commentators were trying to make something of the one try, but like the team, they know it means nothing. The important thing is who is on the plane home and who is lining up next week. The Aussies would have happily traded the try and all the hurt for a start next week. Listen to Tuqiri's post-match interview, he knows exactly what his try was worth.
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Pommy fans are missing the point here. England FULLY DESERVED TO WIN -but look at the thread - that's not what this is about it's about goalkicking and JW is nowhere in that competition. Go elsewhere to pat your own backs re today.
FACT is that CP a far better goalkicker than JW (as are many many others; inc Flood and Barkley...) Just look at the stats. 3 missed drops by JW again as in RWC final 03, 3 missed place kicks, poor kicking from hand etc. He nearly cost you a game that the rest of your team were MAGNIFICENT in. A decent goalkicker/stand off you would have won by miles.
But back to the tread - on the FACTS CP as a kicker is miles better than any - thankfully for a wee country like us with less players than all of Yorkshire !!! There are 50 rugby players in England fo every one in Scotland !!!
Now that puts success in perspective.........
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Right now Paterson is the best kicker in the world. He's also pretty good with ball in hand. He would have gone on the Lions tour if he hadn't been trampled (by Josh Lewsey?). Has his defence improved?
For an English supporter, Jonny's kicking is worrying. If his kicking is poor, he's just like a tackling, but slower Charlie Hodgeson.
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Wilkinson doesn't miss the kicks that count. As for Patterson he kicked well against Italy. However Argentina are different class to Italy. Unless they bottle it I don't think they will give Scotland much opportunity.
Shame Scotland can't get Hernandez on their side - he looked pretty good against Ireland.
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Never ceases to amaze me how a blog topic like Patterson's kicking get's taken over by chest-puffing English rugby fans about today's result. Yes...it was great....but stick to the topic lads. I'm sure there's PLENTY of other blogs you can post on about that.
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VAMOS LAS PUMAS!
What can I say? I just dont care about Scotland and the sour grapes they constantly have in their mouth when it comes to praising their neighbours, England.
I would actually prefer to every single one of the Argie players over the Scottish ones and I look forward to embarrassing Scotland next year in the 6 nations.
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At the 3rd attempt see if I can finally get a post in. Totally agree that Pattison is the form kicker at the moment and the best chance for Scotland to get past Argentina. Doubt if they will do it but then I didn't except, as opposed to hope, we would get past the Aussies today. Especially after all the flack from the SH people it would be great to see them get through as well and possibly even France. [Although getting both would really be a long shot I suspect].
Steve
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Wilkinson doesn't miss the kicks that count. As for Patterson he kicked well against Italy. However Argentina are different class to Italy. Unless they bottle it I don't think they will give Scotland much opportunity.
Shame Scotland can't get Hernandez on their side - he looked pretty good against Ireland.
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As an australian i find it very hard to admit this but we were outplayed. but i was disapointed 2 lose to a team that didnt even score a try. Kicking takes all the fun out of rugby.
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In reply to Justin:
Yes wilko had a bad day kicking wise and if he was on form he could have kicked more but then you also need to take into account the way Mortlock kicked....shockingly. and just think if he had got that last kick, or any one of the many that he missed, the result would have gone the other way.
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As an australian i find it very hard to admit this but we were outplayed. but i was disapointed 2 lose to a team that didnt even score a try. Kicking takes all the fun out of rugby.
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Brilliant! It's forwards wot win matches: all 15 tackled like (Leicester) Tigers, but the front row folded them up like origami. C'mon the North!
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a great win today alright and congratulations to england but bear in mind australia have played terribly in this tournament and beating them on penalties is not that encouraging and aginast the likes of nz or france, the lack of try scoring ability will be exposed. that said australia are no walk over and it was a good win but dont count on retaining the wc just yet. also jonny missed a few but to those who rate barkley over him, get real- england would not have won this match without him. however the fact remains that england did not get a try so that is kind of worrying.however as an irish fan, i was supporting england today and good luck in the semis.
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a great win today alright and congratulations to england but bear in mind australia have played terribly in this tournament and beating them on penalties is not that encouraging and aginast the likes of nz or france, the lack of try scoring ability will be exposed. that said australia are no walk over and it was a good win but dont count on retaining the wc just yet. also jonny missed a few but to those who rate barkley over him, get real- england would not have won this match without him. however the fact remains that england did not get a try so that is kind of worrying.however as an irish fan, i was supporting england today and good luck in the semis.
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I agree, Pattersons stats speak for themselves. Paterson is simply the best, possibly even so much better than the rest! Here in England we hero-worship Wilkinson but he has been elevated by the media to be something very special. He's good, but not that good. Chris is tops but O'Gara, Carter and Parks are all better than Wilkinson. The jaundiced and jingoistic view of many of my fellow countrymen, fueled by the media, make me cringe and it's no wonder everybody else loves to hate us as a result. An honest assessment of our progress in this RWC along with the last is that we were lucky in many respects. Australia were not all that impressive but they were better than England and we were fortunate to beat them. As with last time, we are kicking our way through, we seem incapable of scoring tries against the better teams and our rugby lacks style and entertainment as a result. Something further needs to be done about tries, in my view England should not have won today because they failed to score a try while Australia did so. I'm sorry England play this way, it seems such a tragedy that they are through to the semifinal with this poor apology for rugby while Wales who entertained us so much have gone out, and Ireland also despite having more talented players in almost every position than England. All that said, England have good forwards, I just wish they would try and entertain the fans sometimes.
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Im an England fan but an honest critic. Jonny has not been the same kicker of a ball since RWC 2003. After all he has overcome a crippling neck injury, he couldn't lift a cup of tea after RWC 2003 with his right arm, FACT! His shoulder injury, severe bicep tear, groin tear, hamstring tear, appendicitis and lacerated kidney show the extent of his comeback to even play rugby again!
I remember his machine-like performances from 2000 onwards against southern hemisphere teams, in particular the win in Auckland in 2001. His kicking performance against France in RWC 2003 was extremely sound. As for today, facts show that Paterson is far superior, no questions- I do believe the use of a different Gilbert ball has upset SOME kickers routines, noteably Carter and Wilkinson- however CP has remained successful, testament to the player!!
Jonnys kicking will improve back to the 90% range soon IF he stays fit at Newcastle. He is not just a kicker of the ball though. His flat speed is very good, not in Carters league but still pacey. His tackling is superb however. He crunched Stirling Mortlock today. Far superior to Patterson and any other No 10 at this in the world!!! He remains calm under pressure on the back foot and when he does have players running onto the ball like today he has accurate passing skills to bring players into the game. Patterson is not particulary quick, is very slim and lacks bulk in the contact area and was horrific under pressure when tried at 10. Overall, Wilkinson is a far greater player even when not at 100%. Patterson has a greater accuracy record for kicking, but thats all he possesses.
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Well done England today on a job well done, nice to see the true Scottish feeling coming out about the kickers.
Paterson is Scotland's only chamce of points and is THE reason they are in the last 8. They were tripe against Italy, and they blame it on the rain. What a joke! Like it doesn't rain much in Scotland, and they always play rugby in beautiful sunshine. Scotland will be shown up for what they are, the overachievers of the tournament. And they're going out at the hands of the pumas. Hooray! After seeing France do the biz tonight, it makes me even more sick that Hadden is still in a job after rolling over to NZ. Biggest cop out in history. So much for Scottish pride.
Paterson will not even get an opportunity on sun. Go pumas, well done England, that was truly an immense show of spirit today, and it is ok to win with just kicks, if your team out play the opposition, unlike Scotland against Italy. Rubbish! Pumas win to complete the perfect weekend.
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Well done England today on a job well done, nice to see the true Scottish feeling coming out about the kickers.
Paterson is Scotland's only chamce of points and is THE reason they are in the last 8. They were tripe against Italy, and they blame it on the rain. What a joke! Like it doesn't rain much in Scotland, and they always play rugby in beautiful sunshine. Scotland will be shown up for what they are, the overachievers of the tournament. And they're going out at the hands of the pumas. Hooray! After seeing France do the biz tonight, it makes me even more sick that Hadden is still in a job after rolling over to NZ. Biggest cop out in history. So much for Scottish pride.
Paterson will not even get an opportunity on sun. Go pumas, well done England, that was truly an immense show of spirit today, and it is ok to win with just kicks, if your team out play the opposition, unlike Scotland against Italy. Rubbish! Pumas win to complete the perfect weekend.
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I like Patersons pre kick ritual for its simplicity.He doesn't need to pray for a minute and stick his bum out to get results!
For all you England fans congratulations but please stick to your own blog especially if you going to post a load of anti scottish drivel like the wee man,
For all of Englands superiority,if
Mortlock had kicked that penalty you would have been out.Also to say he is Scotlands only chance of points I haven't seen too many other players
bar Wilkinson trouble the scoreboard.
As regards the Argentina game who knows what will happen in a sudden death game
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Derek mathieson, you're a bit presumptious. A sudden death game. It's only gonna take 80 mins, no extra time or sudden death. Catch a grip! And btw, the Blog is for everyone. It just seems that the Scots can't handle the truth. Their coach is a coward for rolling over and getting his belly rubbed by the ABs. After their performance against France, he should be kicking himself. France are a team that have been beaten and taken close by Scotland in recent years, and if with a bit of pride they can beat the ABs, then Scotland may well have done it for the first time in rugby history and ignited the rugby world behind them. Sack that charlatan, and get Hastings in as coach. All the best to the only 2 NH sides good enough to get to the last 4. Scotland pack yer bags, back home for tea and medals, or not.
I hope so. Well done England and France. Magnificent! Go pumas!
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Derek M, I believe it was bloggers 1 and 2 that started the war of words by deriding Johnny Wilko and saying what a rubbish kicker he was. I think we all have a right to our opinions but an opinion like that (as Wilko is the best kicker the game has ever seen - his records speak for themselves) is just asking for a barage of "anti-jock" sentiments. Especially with the way you folded over without a fight against New Zealand - if you do go all the way then you will just be embarrassing World Chumps.
Chris P is a great kicker and is in great form. Good luck to the Jocks. However, kicking can only get you so far and I think the Pumas will trounce you with their hard hitting, great chasing, and clever reading of the game.
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The jaundiced, jingoistic attitude of my fellow countrymen, fuelled by the media, make me cringe with embarassment - it's understandable why everybody loves to hate us so much. Paterson is clearly the worlds best, his stats speak for themselves. Any genuine and knowledgable rugby enthusiast will appreciate that Wilkinson isn't even the best we have in england so we actually do the worlds best kickers Paterson, Carter, O'Gara and possibly Parks an injustice by comparing Wilkinson to them because he is simply not in their class. Wilkinson is an average to good kicker elevated to superhero status by a crazed English media that is determined to portray every minor English sporting celebrity as a world-beater. In yesterdays two games the two best teams lost. Although the all blacks were better, France were good also so are justifiably in the semis. England by contrast have got there again by playing the same dull game and without scoring a try. I would rather they played with passion and style and entertained me and lost rather than see them win playing the poor apology for rugby we have become accustomed too over the last 10-15 years. It's a great tragedy that teams like NZ and Wales who have entertained us so much, and a team like Ireland with more talented players in almost every position than England are out yet we soldied on with our ugly game.
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It's diificult to give Paterson the crown for world's best place kicker. So far kicker of the tournament and a place amongst an elite group of maybe five or six world class kickers. As a sad Irish man, I am disappointed to see Ronan O' Gara exit this unique group.
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It's diificult to give Paterson the crown for world's best place kicker. So far kicker of the tournament and a place amongst an elite group of maybe five or six world class kickers. As a sad Irish man, I am disappointed to see Ronan O' Gara exit this unique group.
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Hmmmm Paterson,
Hmmmm Carter,
Hmmmm O'Gara,
Hmmmm Parks,
All great kickers, but they will be watching the RWC on their TV's. Make some room for Hernandez.
Thank you very much indeed.
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