By Phil Jones, Sportsbeat

GLOUCESTER Rugby’s Greig Laidlaw is making a mockery of the pressure expected to come with playing scrum-half, kicking goals and captaining an international side, according to former Scotland international Chris Paterson.

The Cherry and Whites number nine became Scotland captain in 2013, the same year he switched back to scrum-half duties for his national side after a spell at stand-off.

He has now accrued a half-century of international caps and Scotland’s record point scorer Paterson, who appeared for Gloucester in the 2007-08 season, said he is impressed with Laidlaw’s handling of his duties.

The former Edinburgh man kicked 16 points as Scotland beat Japan 26-13 in the first match of their two-Test series last weekend.

In a scrappy game Laidlaw’s accuracy was reminiscent of Paterson’s metronomic boot that saw him not miss an international kick at goal during the 2007 World Cup and 2008 Six Nations tournaments.

And the retired utility-back said the whole country is proud of Gloucester’s talisman.

“He is brilliant, so accurate, his approach is so simple and he has got it down to a tee, it is absolutely brilliant – and he works hard at it too,” said Paterson, speaking at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow where he was helping to mentor sporting stars of the future who are part of the SSE Next Generation programme.

“Don't be fooled, he has worked a long time on it, he is a natural kicker but he works really, really hard and takes huge pride in the pressure he is under with the decision making around the field.

“Don't forget he is captain too, he is playing a crucial role at scrum half, making the decisions and kicking the goals, so we are pretty proud of wee Greig.”

Paterson captained Scotland for 13 matches between 2004 and 2007 so is ideally placed to comment on the twin pressures of captaining and kicking at goal.

However, while Paterson played primarily at full-back or on the wing, Laidlaw is in the heart of the action, driving both Scotland and Gloucester from scrum-half, and the 38-year-old said his composure is to be applauded.

“You certainly have to separate your goal kicking from your match performance and probably your captaincy from your match performance so there are three different bits that, as much as you separate them, are still linked at the same time,” added Paterson.

“Greig is doing all three really well and, speaking as someone with experience, if you have a bad day goal-kicking you cannot let it affect your captaincy or your team play, but he doesn't have that problem because he is doing them all really well.”

The final Test Scotland’s of the two-match series in Japan begins at 11.20am BST on Saturday in the Ajinomoto Stadium, Tokyo, with Laidlaw named among the replacements as head coach Vern Cotter rotates his squad.

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