CHRIS Paterson may appear wholly comfortable with the media and unfazed after a decade of interviews, but the 30-year-old Edinburgh full-back's laid-back demeanour hides an intense determination to find some success.
He appeared at yesterday's announcement of Edinburgh's team to face Wasps in the resumption of the Heineken Cup tomorrow night, Andy Robinson having made just one change to the side which defeated the Ospreys at Murrayfield in last week's return to t
he Magners League. Jim Hamilton, the Scotland lock rested after his autumn Test exertions, returns at for Ben Gissing, but, otherwise, Robinson stressed that this was his strongest team.
He is pleased to have almost an entire fit squad to choose from and is clearly sending a message to those on the outside looking in, from talented young players like Scott Newlands to the more seasoned Test caps Matt Mustchin, Gavin Kerr and Hugo Southwell, that there is now a very real fight to win a starting jersey, if ever there wasn't.
At the heart of that is Paterson, who has been relieved of the concerns of 'is he a stand-off, is he a winger or a full-back?', and being asked to lead the side's counter-attacking strategy. There is a new freedom about Scotland's most-capped player, who endured a painful and agonising 90th international appearance against South Africa, as a heavy batter to a cheekbone had doctors fearing a break. Had he stayed on, as kicks were squirted past the uprights all-too-often, Scotland may have won the game.
But, as he prepares for his 51st Heineken Cup appearance – he will be presented with a special cap before the match to mark becoming the first Scottish player to reach the half-century landmark in Edinburgh's last outing in Castres – Paterson displays his typical focus on the future. He struggled yesterday when asked about his memories over the last 50 European games, and was quick to turn the discussion back to what Edinburgh might be capable of this and next season.
His first taste of the Heineken Cup was in November 1999, Paterson having enjoyed a Test debut against Spain a few weeks earlier, as a replacement for Edinburgh Reivers against French side Grenoble at Netherdale, won 23-18 by the Edinburgh-Borders hybrid. His first start came the following week at Neath's Gnoll, where a Conan Sharman hat-trick helped Edinburgh Reivers to a 31-20 win.
The Reivers beat Neath at home and lost by just two points away in Grenoble, but it was the back-to-back games with Northampton in the middle pool games that did for his early hopes of a quarter-final spot. The Scots lost 79-16 on aggregate to the Saints, who duly went on to win the tournament.
Paterson has been through many Anglo-Scottish clashes in the nine seasons since then, and enjoyed time in the Guinness Premiership too. His confidence is a constant, the difference now being that he has more teammates who share the innate belief that Edinburgh can play at the top table. They have a tough pool with Leinster and Castres to come in January, but Edinburgh can enliven hopes of a knockout appearance with a third successive victory over Wasps – the first, a 32-31 thriller, when Paterson was captain in 2005 and the second in a friendly in August.
"That (2005] win against was definitely the highlight of my Heineken Cup career so far – everything just went brilliantly," he said. "Wasps went into that game as favourites, but we just made good decisions on the day.
"That was the first game, we had to get off to a winning start and it was a great team effort to get the victory. There will be a few of their guys still involved this weekend and that gives us the knowledge that we can beat Wasps; beating them in pre-season gives our new guys that knowledge as well."
Both sides have failed to live up to pre-season expectations with Edinburgh sitting sixth and Wasps ninth in their respective leagues, but, similarly, both have the quality to rise to the occasion at some point. The question is who might be first now that the stakes have risen and this season's Heineken Cup future hangs in the balance. Paterson has been here before and, for all the smiles and media talk that goes with the job, the Borderer is clearly intent on not allowing another big-time opportunity slip through the fingers.
Edinburgh (v Wasps at Murrayfield, tomorrow, 7.30pm): C Paterson; M Robertson, B Cairns, N De Luca, S Webster; P Godman, M Blair (capt); A Jacobsen, R Ford, G Cross, C Hamilton, J Hamilton, A MacDonald, A Hogg, R Rennie. Subs: A Kelly, G Kerr, M Mustchin, S Newlands, G Laidlaw, D Blair, H Southwell.
The full article contains 819 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
