Drop goal made Paterson a legend
Legends are created in different ways – some evolve over many years; others materialise in seconds.
The latter was the case for former Taranaki rugby fullback Neil Paterson.
Paterson, who has died, aged 82, after a short battle with cancer, dropped a goal to enable the Ranfurly Shield to remain in the province.
His goal on August 8, 1964 – the only one from his 12 first class games – saw Taranaki defeat Wellington 3-0 to retain the shield they had taken off them 11 months previously. There was no scoring until Paterson unleashed the 47 metre mighty droppie, which sent the crowd wild.
Long-time team-mate Jimmy Cameron recalled that Paterson, in just his second game for the amber-andblacks, had put in a commendable performance. ‘‘He had a very good game. He put the disappointment of an earlier
missed penalty behind him to drop kick the winner,’’ Cameron said.
Paterson’s early rugby days were with Eltham and then as a member of Don Carlson’s all-conquering Stratford side, which won Taranaki titles in procession in the early to mid 1960s.
Son Grant, who represented both Taranaki and Auckland as a longpassing halfback, said his father was very competitive. ‘‘Even in his last week when he was watching the Chiefs, he was into offering his opinion.’’
Grant, who was born three days after the Wellington match, said Neil loved watching his children play sport. ‘‘He never put any pressure on us, but was a constant on the sideline. He always made time for us.’’
When he turned 40, Paterson took up bowls, initially at Vogeltown and for the past 34 years at Paritutu, collecting nine Taranaki titles, which included the gold star award for five victories.
Those wins included the open singles (2004), the Christmas pairs (1990, 1993 and 2008) and the open triples (1991 and 2001). He also won the champion-ofchampions triples (1993), the championof-champions fours (1992) and the New Year fours (1995).
Paterson, who died on March 14, is survived by his wife, Jocelyn, one daughter and four sons.