Paterson - Scotland can take heart (Getty Images).

By Ian Laybourn, PA Sport

Chris Paterson, hero of Scotland's face-saving victory over Italy, reckons his side can take heart from another mid-table finish to the RBS 6 Nations.

The Scots rounded off Ian McGeechan's last championship as coach with a 33-25 success over the talented and spirited Azzurri to finish in fourth place with a 40% record for the second successive season.

After going down to emphatic defeats at the hands of the "big three", Scotland were concerned more with the manner than the margin of their victory and Paterson believes they can start the build-up to the World Cup with renewed optimism.

"We played loads of good stuff against England and we played reasonably well on Saturday under terrific pressure," he said.

"The main aim was to improve throughout the championship and I think we've done that.

"Winning internationals is tremendously difficult. Italy have scored tries against England and France - they're a strong outfit - and for us to get a victory is pleasing."

Especially pleasing for McGeechan was the variety of his side's attack and the continued improvement from marksman Paterson, who scored 18 points with a try and five goals.

The Edinburgh winger, who yesterday celebrated his 25th birthday, contributed 50 of Scotland's 81 points throughout the championship, a total bettered only by Jonny Wilkinson and David Humphreys.

After enjoying a 100% record against Wales and England, Paterson was disappointed to miss two shots at goal on Saturday but came up with the crucial try - a neat chip and chase - and kept his nerve in a tense finale to put over a long-range penalty that sealed the win.

It was a performance that earned the plaudits of both captain and coach.

"Chris has worked exceptionally hard on his goalkicking and it does give you a bit of breathing space when he can step up and take three points at crucial times," said Bryan Redpath.

McGeechan added: "One of the huge pluses we've got out of the championship is that we've found a front-line goalkicker. It's nice to have that as part of our armoury."

Another man to benefit from Scotland's plan of all-out attack was veteran winger Kenny Logan, who crowned his final Six Nations appearance with his 13th try and the man-of-the-match award.

Paterson said: "It was quite an open game. In the last game of the championship, you sometimes get even more adventurism and myself and Kenny were involved a little bit more than we have been.

"That's just the way it goes. With Italy. it's hard to take it on up front. I was delighted to get my hands on the ball."

Paterson, who makes no secret of his desire to stake a claim for the Scotland number 10 jersey, drew more satisfaction from scoring his try than his goals but knows that accurate marksmanship can seal his long-term place in the side.

And he gives the credit for his improvement to Australian kicking coach Mick Byrne, who worked with the Wallabies before joining the Scotland backroom staff just over 12 months ago.

"The goalkicking is going well at the moment and credit for that must go to Mick Byrne," said Paterson. "He's been tremendous.

"He's adapted my style to hopefully make it more consistent. I'm reasonably happy, although I was disappointed to miss two - they could have been crucial at the end with the scores being tight.

"When you're playing the top teams in the world, you can't afford to miss any."

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