THE FINN END OF THE WEDGE
Nervy Hogg admits he faces tough job to fill Russell’s boots at ten
STUART HOGG nervous? Who’d have thought it. Then again, he’s never been asked to fill the shoes of Finn Russell from the start of a Scotland match before.
The skipper admits he’ll be well out of his comfort zone when he moves from full-back to replace the injured Russell at fly-half against Italy at BT Murrayfield today.
Excited he may be about what he describes as his ‘new challenge’, but Hogg insists it’s very much a stop-gap move until the mercurial star returns.
‘I won’t say I’m anything like Finn Russell because nobody in the world of rugby is,’ said Hogg. ‘The big thing for me is getting the basics right and getting in good positions, and allowing us to go forward with momentum.
‘I feel I’m ready for it and I’m excited. It gets me involved in the game more playing at ten. I might not have the time and space I’m used to at full-back, but it’s another new challenge.
‘I’m really nervous about the game but to get the best out of people you need to put them in uncomfortable positions and this is the perfect scenario for me to challenge myself.
‘Look, I’m happy to play at ten, but I’m not going to go into the game with as much confidence as I would if I was at 15 but, hopefully, the change of position will bring the best out of myself and the team.’
Russell, who is expected to return for the trip to Paris next Friday, has been giving his friend some welcome advice. ‘Finn has been absolutely tremendous this week,’ said Hogg. ‘He’s obviously bitterly disappointed that he picked up a head knock in the Ireland game but he’s been there to help with the preparation.
‘He’s watched a fair amount of rugby for us, he’s analysed training and made suggestions about where we can improve. I would expect nothing less from him because he is a world-class talent who cares massively about this team.’
Hogg admits he’s a novice at fly-half at the top level, despite having played there for the Lions in two provincial games on the 2013 tour to Australia and occasionally filling in there for Scotland in emergencies — twice in this Six Nations. But he’s never started there for his country until now.
‘It was all about running down the clock until Finn came back on after his yellow card against England,’ he said. ‘Last week when I moved there against Ireland was probably the time I struggled most, because I forgot at times that I was playing ten.
‘You’re there for a couple of phases and then you can run away and hide again at the back when it’s over. But you can’t do that when you’re at ten for any length of time.
‘Finn went through the analysis with me on how I have to stay engaged for every single phase, out the back, with the forwards, making sure I organise the next phase. So that’s something I’ve worked really, really hard on this week.
‘In training, we’ve got ourselves in some good positions and the speed of ball has been absolutely electric. Today I’ll have a little bit more time to get myself in good positions to make sure we are going forward.
‘I enjoy being out of my comfort zone and people writing me off by saying this could go very wrong. I’m not going to prove anything to anybody today. I’m going to do the basics well and make sure I’m driving the team forward.
‘Being the goal kicker from the start is another different challenge. Last week they asked me to kick and I was a little nervous about it, but I’ve worked hard with Chris Paterson at just getting the technique spot on — not rushing. I’ve been involved in games before when I’ve had to kick and its just part of playing ten.’
Hogg feels no pressure to ‘win big’ against whipping boys Italy despite them losing all four of their Six Nations games by more than 40 points each time.
‘If we go out there and chase it too early we could become unstuck,’ he said. ‘The Italians are a very good team. The scorelines haven’t reflected how well they have actually played. They like to throw the ball around and are fairly patient in the way they attack.
‘Defensively, we are going to have to make sure we have good width and try and shut them down.
‘The longer these Italian boys are in the game, they grow in confidence. It’s vital that we start in the best possible way.’
The Scots need a big win after back-to-back defeats and clearly have the firepower in the backs to run in the tries today.
But the likes of Hogg and Scott Steele, who replaces Ali Price at scrum-half, will need to get their hands on the ball first to do damage.
In the past, the Italians used their sheer physical power to grind teams down but tighter rule changes at the breakdown and at the scrum have kicked some of their darker arts into touch.
The stage is surely set for Gregor Townsend’s men to get Wales and Ireland out of their system today before heading for Paris.
The big thing for me is getting the basics right