The rugby kicking exercise was arranged as part of the partnership between The Famous Grouse and Scottish Rugby
“If you can kick a football, you can kick a rugby ball…”
I’d like to say I was reassured by Scottish rugby legend Chris Paterson’s confidence, but truth be told, I was struggling to drown out the nagging voice in my head saying: “If I’m rubbish, I’ll be slaughtered in the pub.”
I was about to get a kicking masterclass from Chris and I fully expected to be terrible. After all, I’d never once kicked a rugby ball in my life. I knew I could kick a football, but until recently I’d stopped doing that with any regularity some years earlier.
I wasn’t particularly concerned about the possibility of making a fool of myself in front of Scotland’s record points scorer. I wasn’t even worried about the video evidence being shared online. But the thought of being the butt of my friends’ jokes, I just couldn’t accept.
The kicking exercise took place inside Edinburgh’s Hive Stadium, in the shadows of Murrayfield before Scotland’s momentous 31-20 victory over England. It was organised as part of the partnership between The Famous Grouse and Scottish Rugby.
Aptly, research commissioned by Scotland’s most popular blended whisky found that many Brits spend just 80 minutes each week with their closest friends. That’s the same duration as a rugby match.
Line of Duty actor Martin Compston was among those who said watching live sport – like a Guinness Six Nations rugby match – provided a rare opportunity to get together with mates.
He said: “Acting takes me all over the world, which makes it harder to make plans with mates, especially when you’re far away from the people you grew up with”, said Martin. “The laughs, social rituals and time together really matter.”
“That’s why The Famous Grouse’s ‘ Get Together’ content series – celebrating those moments friends still show up for, like a rugby match day – feels so personal to me.”
This weekend, I’ll be in a pub somewhere watching the Six Nations with my friends. And that’s why I was keen not to give them any ammunition in the form of a rugby kicking disasterclass.
Thankfully, I had an excellent coach in Chris. Within seconds of watching me trying to kick the rugby ball “like a football” out of my hands, he told me precisely where I was going wrong.
I was pulling my foot back after making contact when what I should have been doing was following through. I had to break muscle memory, built over four decades.
Once I did that, I was up and away. Not quite Finn Russell levels, but I didn’t disgrace myself, so that was a pretty big win as far as I was concerned.
Basics nailed (kind of), I was taught how to place the ball on the tee, where to make contact and how to set my run-up to achieve maximum power and accuracy.
In a slightly more advanced drill, I then learned how to land on my kicking foot. This was a game changer. I actually felt quite smug watching the ball sailing between the posts after kicking from a tricky angle.
I was soon brought back down to Earth, though. To finish, I attempted two drop kicks. One was all right, but the other served as a reminder of my novice status. Probably a good thing or I might have got carried away.
Safe in the knowledge that I was going to be able to watch the game with my friends without getting pelters, I was able to enjoy a Guinness or two, and a Famous Grouse and ginger, in Edinburgh’s brilliant pubs on what was a brilliant weekend for Scotland.
This weekend, Scotland will be looking to build on two consecutive wins when they host favourites France at Murrayfield. England, fresh from back to back defeats, will be looking to bounce back against Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
Perhaps Steve Borthwick’s team will take a few tips from this video…