Murrayfield cheers turn to jeers for Hogg
NOBODY has had the Murrayfield crowd on the edge of their seats in recent years quite as much as Stuart Hogg.
There was his solo try against Italy, when he ran from nearly under his own posts and was cheered to the line like a horse romping home in the Grand National.
Then there was the dummy that left Ireland’s Rob Kearney chasing shadows as Hogg raised the roof with another Six Nations try.
And what about his electric burst to the corner that so nearly resulted in a historic winning effort against New Zealand?
The full-back has only ever felt the love at Murrayfield. That may not be the case, however, when he lines up there for Glasgow against Edinburgh on Saturday.
In previous years, Glasgow’s players have been given a fairly easy ride from home fans in this fixture, partly because of their respect for them as Scotland internationals, but mostly because there’s been no real rivalry between the teams.
Yes, bragging rights were up for grabs, but everything has changed now Richard Cockerill is in charge in the capital. The whole derby atmosphere has been turned up a notch since the Englishman took the reins.
The gauntlet was thrown down this week when he stated his intention to make Edinburgh the dominant side in Scotland within the next 12 months after years spent in the Warriors’ shadow. Where better to stake their claim than by lifting the 1872 Cup and joining Glasgow in the Pro14 play-offs?
After a season of rapid improvement, Edinburgh fans have bought into the Cockerill revolution. To the extent that Hogg expects them to be on his back this weekend.
‘I never thought I’d get booed at Murrayfield, but I will be on Saturday,’ he admitted.
Hogg has been impressed with the turnaround at Edinburgh and thinks this could be the
strongest capital side Glasgow have faced in a while.
‘I believe so,’ he said. ‘We are used to Edinburgh just punting the ball and defending, but they are playing some expansive rugby and all credit to them as they have worked hard on that.
‘They have some cracking players who have been causing problems, such as Duhan van der Merwe on the wing. He’s been on fire, so that’s one person we will have to shut down.’
Edinburgh go into the game needing just a point to confirm a play-off spot and Champions Cup rugby for next season.
Glasgow have already secured a home semi-final on Friday May 18, with the club confirming yesterday that capacity will be increased to 10,000 at Scotstoun. But Hogg dismissed suggestions that Saturday’s derby will be meaningless for his side.
After three defeats in their last five games, he insists Dave Rennie’s men are determined to bounce back in the 1872 Cup decider and build momentum ahead of the play-offs.
‘We wanted to win three trophies at the start of the season and we have a good chance at the weekend to pick up the first one,’ said Hogg.
‘We need to be on our A game defensively to keep Edinburgh out as they’re playing well. We are not just going to sit down and let them run over the top of us.
‘We will bring a huge amount of physicality and exploit them with our attacking game.’
Hogg’s only regret about playing on Saturday is that he won’t be able to cheer on Hawick Harlequins when they play Carrick in the BT Men’s Shield Final at Murrayfield earlier in the day.
‘One of my mates had a kid at the weekend and he is having a wetting of the bairn’s head, so they will be steaming by the time of our game,’ he laughed.
‘I hope they won’t be abusing me! But I think it is class for Hawick rugby to have a team in one of the cup finals.
‘It is strange because Carrick are linked to Glasgow. Who am I supporting? Hawick, definitely!’