Battle royal in capital for No 10
● Scots legend Paterson intrigued by tussle between Edinburgh’s Van der Walt and Hickey who both have ‘real quality’
T h e r e i s g o i n g t o b e a r e a l battle for the No 10 jersey this coming season at Edinburgh Rugby, according to Scotland legend Chris Paterson.
Many were surprised earlier this year when head coach Richard Cockerill stated that Duncan Weir, who had been hi s f i r s t c hoi c e s t a nd- o f f a t the start of 2017-18, was going to be allowed to leave in the summer.
The Scotland international is now with Worcester Warriors while Edinburgh’s top two in the pivotal position with the new campaign just around the corner are Jaco van der Walt and Simon Hickey.
South African Van der Walt m o v e d t o t h e c a p i t a l l a s t November after Weir picked up a groin injury and immediately hit the ground running as a playmaker.
He star ted the majorit y of ma t c h e s f o r t h e r e s t o f t h e campaign, but with former New Zealand Under-20 cap Hickey having signed on from Bordeaux Begles things could be interesting in the lead-up to the first friendly against Bath next Friday and then the competitive season opener at the Ospreys on 31 August.
As part of his wide-ranging role at Scottish Rugby, ex-scotland full-back Paterson works with the kickers from both pro teams in a specialist coaching capacity.
He worked with Van der Walt and Hickey, who are both 24, d u r i n g Ju l y a n d s a i d : “I t i s going to be a really interesting tussle between these two I feel. They both have real quality.
“Jaco showed everyone just how good he can be last season and for a guy coming into a foreign club and a different type of game he settled in very quickly.
“I worked with Simon for the first time recently and he came a c r o s s a s a ve r y c o mp o s e d player who almost seems to have experience beyond his 24 years.
“He has been going well in France for the last couple of years and I think he can make a team and a backline tick.
“He has great distribution and can kick very well, all the things you want from your 10.
“They will push each other on and we will see what happens in the coming weeks and months ahead.”
Meanwhile, Paterson, who won 109 international caps b et ween 199 9 and 2011 and a l s o p l ay e d f o r E d i n b u rg h bet ween 1999 and 2007 and 2008 and 2012, is excited to see Matt Scott back playing for his hometown club.
C e n t r e S c o t t p l aye d mor e than 60 games for the pro side b et ween 2011 and 2016 having come through the ranks at Currie.
The 27-year- old, who also has 39 Scotland appearances under his belt, spent the last t wo years at Gloucester, but is back and ready to hit the ground running in the Guinness Pro14.
“Ma t t S c o t t i s s o d a n g e r - o u s w i t h b a l l i n h a n d , h e 2 Jaco van der Walt, far left, settled in very quickly when he joined Edinburgh last season but he now faces a formidable challenge from Simon Hickey, who has arrived from Bordeaux Begles this summer. has matured well with t wo years playing elsewhere and he could b e a big player for them this year,” 40 -year- old Paterson said.
“When he was younger Matt sometimes made errors, but I think that is out of his game now and he really does push d e f e n c e s a n d m a k e t h e m work and that often creates space for himself or for others around him.
“H e h a s t i g h t e n e d u p h i s game defensively and is quite experienced now, so I think h e w i l l g o o n a n d b e c o m e quite a big voice in the Edinburgh changing room going forward.
“There are other good centres at the club like Mark Bennett, Chris Dean, James Johnstone and Juan Pablo S o cino, and when you have guys in the midfield like that creating chances for the likes of Duhan van der Mer we and Blair Kinghorn then it is shaping up to be an exciting season at Edinburgh.”