Wales ace Leigh Halfpenny has been in imperious form from the tee as he has collected two consecutive man-of-the-match awards.
But Scotland’s Greig Laidlaw has been equally prolific and boasts the most accurate strike-rate in the Championship.
And Scottish legend Hastings, who scored 733 points in a 67 cap Test career, has paid tribute to the duo ahead of the crucial encounter a week Saturday at Murrayfield.
“The quality of goal-kicking we see these days in international rugby is quite astonishing,” said Hastings.
“Last weekend was a great advert for goal-kicking in the Six Nations.
“Leigh Halfpenny and Greig Laidlaw have proved they are two of the best in the world.
“It is no exaggeration to say they are as good as anyone on the planet at the moment.
“They are different type of kickers because while Halfpenny has a greater range, Greig does not seem to miss from inside 35 metres.
“Greig has picked up from where Chris Paterson left off for Scotland and has taken it on almost another level.
“He has just become someone who hardly misses a kick and he shows such confidence in his ability.
“That is a great asset in any side and when you don’t have that in your team you can see the difference.
“A reliable kicker gives your side a huge amount of confidence and there is no doubt that Ireland missed that at Murrayfield last weekend with Jonny Sexton being injured.”
Halfpenny is already seen as a front-runner to secure a second British & Irish Lions tour and he is likely to go head-to-head with on fire Scot Stuart Hogg.
The Glasgow Warriors full-back has taken the Championship by storm and has been tipped for a place on the plane to Australia.
But Hastings, a two-tour Lion, reckons the Welsh star is currently edging the contest.
“I am a big fan of Leigh Halfpenny and think he is an excellent full-back,” said Hastings.
“Hogg could do a lot worse than try and emulate his game.
“Halfpenny is an absolute shoo-in for the Lions, while Hogg is one of the guys who if he has another couple of promising games, he will be on the plane as well.
“People have to remember that Hogg is still young but he does epitomise the new found confidence in the Scottish team.
“The tries he scored against England and Italy were spectacular and showed he has huge pace, which is a wonderful advantage in international sport.
“He has potential and he just needs to keep doing the basics well.
“He is playing with a lot of confidence and has been involved in a successful Glasgow side which is rubbing off on him.”
