Scotland's Chris Paterson has announced his international retirement.

Another great of the game bites the dust.

I have a lot of respect for Paterson he always seemed to hurt England when we played them, and he made me laugh when he was at Gloucester as he couldn't hit a barn door with his kicking.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/16274504.stm


Chris Paterson's Scotland career
Games - 109
Started - 96
Points - 809

A great servant to the Scottish game, scored 22 tries for Scotland which is often overlooked.

Absolute legend for Scotland but right decision - leave gracefully before overstaying your welcome.

He's not the player he used to be but still gives his all and has a huge amount to offer Edinburgh.

Absolute hero

A true Borders, lad, has always given everything for his country and never leaves anything on the pitch - he will be missed

A great servant of Scottish rugby. A true pro and a true gent. Bravo Mossy.

Seriously good player who I enjoyed watching immensely. I hope by retiring from International Rugby we will see him in the Pro 12 for another couple of years

What can you say? Legend. Loyal servant. Gave everything for his country. 22 tries. Two years without a missed kick. Scotland's player of the decade. We will miss him terribly.

My mother loves Chris more than me or my brother. Or my dad. She bought the special edition Scott's Porridge Oats with him on the box. She doesn't like porridge.

Classic, Ian

IanBru wrote:

My mother loves Chris more than me or my brother. Or my dad. She bought the special edition Scott's Porridge Oats with him on the box. She doesn't like porridge.

My girlfriend did the same. Although I suspect she preferred the Thom Evans one better!

Great professional and has been a credit to Scottish rugby. He's gotten a lot of well deserved praise for his amazing goal kicking stats in recent times but he was a very underrated player too.

To get >100 caps across wing, full back and fly half is a phenomenal achievement and shows what a talented player he is.

Anywhere within 30 metres in front of the posts he was deadly.

Great player, and always loved to watch him. Seemed like a real genuine bloke too- he will be missed I think.

I will always remember that phenomenal tackle on Ben Foden during the 6N. He proved you don't have to be a physical monster to survive in today's modern game!

haha that's a nice story Ian. Legendary player, a hard grafter, great tackler and very accurate kicker. He'll be missed, but this marks a new era in Scottish rugby, soon there'll be lots of new players getting regular game time which is exciting.

spot on Safeasmilk

He was average at best, lets face it Scotland didn't have anyone else hence why he got 109 caps.

Parks is twice the player that Paterson was.

Great guy, great player. Will be sad to see him go after years of service to the national team. Hopefully he will continue to contribute to the game in Scotland in some way or other.

HERSH wrote: spot on Safeasmilk

He was average at best, lets face it Scotland didn't have anyone else hence why he got 109 caps.

Parks is twice the player that Paterson was.

Please no one rise to this - lets try and keep the thread from being a petty argument with Hersh!

SafeAsMilk wrote:Anywhere within 30 metres in front of the posts he was deadly.

Dim

HERSH wrote: spot on Safeasmilk

He was average at best, lets face it Scotland didn't have anyone else hence why he got 109 caps.

Parks is twice the player that Paterson was.

And Dimmer.

Give it a rest, lads, try and show a little respect pls

AsLongAsetc

My post was tongue-in-cheek, but it is kinda true.

Hang on, Paterson never took long range kicks so safeasmilk was right kicks about 30m out straight infront was what he was good at.

Plus don't you rate Parks?

As for showing respect he hasn't passed on.

SafeAsMilk wrote:AsLongAsetc

My post was tongue-in-cheek.

Glad to hear that, my apologies then

I think if we're going to praise players we need to accept their limitations too.

HERSH wrote:Hang on, Paterson never took long range kicks so safeasmilk was right kicks about 30m out straight infront was what he was good at.

Plus don't you rate Parks?

As for showing respect he hasn't passed on.

He never took long range (like Halfpenny, say), but he always took plenty long enough ones, the short range myth is just that. And no, I don't rate Parks very highly, even tho he has had the odd good game for Scotland

HERSH wrote:Hang on, Paterson never took long range kicks so safeasmilk was right kicks about 30m out straight infront was what he was good at.

Plus don't you rate Parks?

As for showing respect he hasn't passed on.

HERSH - bit of exaduration there. Mossy's range was within the 10m line, from any side of the pitch. Yes he couldn't kick anything longer than that but to say he could only kick 30m straight in front of the posts shows a lack of knowledge.

And yes he hasn't died but this is a thread in homage to a great servant to Scottish rugby.

So he was an average player then.

Let's keep things in perspective, he wasn't in the same class as Wilko or Carter.

HERSH wrote:So he was an average player then.

Let's keep things in perspective, he wasn't in the same class as Wilko or Carter.

I'd say a success % in the high 80s / low 90s for any kick within the 10m line is better than average!

And remember he didn't miss a single kick for 2 years - 37 or something like that - now that is something special.

Yes he is no Dan Carter but does that make him any less of a great servant to the Scottish game?

We're not saying he's the best player ever to grace the game, just that he has been a great player, role model and person for Scotland for the last 10 years or so.

A compltely brilliant player for Scotland, always gave his all on the pitch, his kicking was sublime.

Agree with others about some of his last ditch tackles - phenomenal!

A truly great player for Scotland imo.

I think most players would settle for being average at international level, I'm not knocking him, but lets not make him out to be a Rugby God because he wasn't.

He was slightly above average on a good day.

Merry Xmas Scotland Fans

I would recommend watching the 100 caps video clip on the BBC Sports page - a very nice little tribute to a great servant to the game.

Many many thanks for some great memories CP.

Good luck Chris, another player who I think won't be fully appreciated until he's no longer there

Sad to see him go, but glad he didn't do a John Smit and play on long past his best. Imagine Paterson getting fat...

Looking back, my favourite Mosssy Moments.
.2006 - His sublime kicking performance in the Calcutta win.
. 2006 - His last minute penalty in Rome giving Scotland their first away win in the 6nations in ages.
2007 - The delight on his face as he kicked Scotland into the world cup quarters.
2008 - Outclassing Wilko at Murrayfield and helping Scotland to another Calcutta win
2009 - Knocking over the match winning drop goal in the famous win over Australia
(2010 - Injury curtailed most of his 2010 season)
2011 - His fine try saving tackles in the 6 nations against England & Italy

I'm sure there are more highlights but I can barely see my keyboard through the haze of tears Paterson you were a great servant of the game and Scotland's best player for the past 6/7 years. All the best Mossy

Some big retirements lately from the home nations. A new era of players must now step up.

Good on Chris for going out this way. Always liked to watch him play. Would have liked to clap him off in the 6N though. He's earned that.

Wish the SRU could have arranged a post world cup game at Murrayfield so we could have given the likes of Paterson and Hines a decent farewell from the International game.

GLove39 wrote:Sad to see him go, but glad he didn't do a John Smit and play on long past his best. Imagine Paterson getting fat...

Looking back, my favourite Mosssy Moments.
.2006 - His sublime kicking performance in the Calcutta win.
. 2006 - His last minute penalty in Rome giving Scotland their first away win in the 6nations in ages.
2007 - The delight on his face as he kicked Scotland into the world cup quarters.
2008 - Outclassing Wilko at Murrayfield and helping Scotland to another Calcutta win
2009 - Knocking over the match winning drop goal in the famous win over Australia
(2010 - Injury curtailed most of his 2010 season)
2011 - His fine try saving tackles in the 6 nations against England & Italy

I'm sure there are more highlights but I can barely see my keyboard through the haze of tears Paterson you were a great servant of the game and Scotland's best player for the past 6/7 years. All the best Mossy

Some great memories - and I was there for a lot of them!

Just read the tributes on the SRU website

It's a shame he's not getting a Shane Williams style send off but this is the 6N coming up and I'm sure he wouldn't want to be picked just for sentimental reasons.

On the other hand if he comes on at half time for a round of applause that would be amazing!

A man of true class. Retiring at this time is the best thing for him. I do hope we get a chance to show our appreciation at the 6n.

well played paterson.

More than any other player, Mossy was damned for his versatility.

Not many people get to play in five different positions for his country – 45 caps on one or other wing, 40 at full back, and 11 at stand-off as well as 13 replacement appearances. Amazing.

He will always be Scotland's 10 that never was and serves as a salutary lesson to players that unless you demand treatment as a specialist, you're at the mercy of the selectors. Damn you Hadden you tool.

RDW_Scotland wrote:[This thread was honouring a great ambassador for Scottish rugby who has won us numerous games over the years

I like "numerous" is over-egging the pudding a bit. That's more of a comment about Scotland than Paterson though.

Good luck to the chap. A fine, upstanding fellow who is bowing out with grace

SafeAsMilk wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:[This thread was honouring a great ambassador for Scottish rugby who has won us numerous games over the years

I like "numerous" is over-egging the pudding a bit. That's more of a comment about Scotland than Paterson though.

Good luck to the chap. A fine, upstanding fellow who is bowing out with grace

Ah you see us Scots can't score tries and, since he has been our kicker for years, he's obviously won us most of the games we have won!

IMO he was unlucky not to get a Lions Cap

Paterson would not have missed that drop kick at the end of the Argentina match...........

SafeAsMilk wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:[This thread was honouring a great ambassador for Scottish rugby who has won us numerous games over the years

I like "numerous" is over-egging the pudding a bit. That's more of a comment about Scotland than Paterson though.

As it's mentioned Scotland as I know only to well fail to score tries. Paterson was often the difference for us when it came to winning.
The following games won by Paterson
2006
Scotland 20 - France 16 (Paterson Kicks 10 points)
Scotland 18 - 12 England (Paterson kicks 15 points)
Italy 10 - 13 Scotland (Paterson scores 10 point including a try)

2007
Scotland 21 - Wales 9 (Paterson kicks 7 perfect penalties)

RWC Scotland 18 - Italy 16 (Paterson kicks all of Scotland's points and put us into the quarters

2008
Scotland 15 - 9 England (Paterson kicks 12 points)
Argentina 14 - 26 Scotland (Paterson kicks 16 points)

2009
Scotland 9 - 8 Australia (Paterson kicks vital drop goal)

2010 - Injured at the start of the season and misses most games

2011
RWC
Scotland 34 - Romania 24 (Paterson kicks vital 14 points which turn out to be the difference)

So as you can see, there's numerous games which have been won for Scotland by the 12 stone kicking beauty that is Chris Paterson

Well done Mossy - a great player and a great guy. He will be missed but the right time to go.

PS Those Grade A *ank*rs on the BBC Rugby site cannot even get the photograph of Mossy correct - hint BBC gnobs - that is Lawson and De Luca at the foot of the article.

If anyone is on Twitter #farewellmossy to try and get it trending!

Bring back Capt Picard.

Should have also said thanks Bath_ BTGOG - very gracious of you. Unlike some of your countrymen who show no class whatsoever. They are of course entirely consistent.

GLove39 wrote:So as you can see, there's numerous games which have been won for Scotland by the 12 stone kicking beauty that is Chris Paterson

I think me and you have different views on what "numerous" means. But, I'm not saying that as a pop against Paterson

Paterson was a match winner. Comparisons with DC are ridiculous mostly because DC is in a different universe compared to both CP and JW....he can be compared with JW because both made their mark as kickers.

Remarkably childlike, some of the posters here, who cannot allow one single thread celebrating the contribution of a terrific individual and a long time servant to the game without stopping to insist on a caveat or have a pop at the country or clubs he played for.

Nakedly, senselessly graceless and pathetic and demonstrative of a terrible inferiority. Would you find a single Scottish fan qualifying praise about Shane Williams or Alfie on their retirement? No, you wouldn't.

The great thing about The Mossy was that he was much liked and respected amongst fellow professionals even if he wasn't always on the winning side. Utter dedication and professionalism required to get kicking numbers like that and to ease your body through all of these years in the professional game. You've got to want it.

And that's why he will always be a fan favourite - he struck a cord based on the national mentality that there is no substitute for sheer effing hard work.