Happy Hogg is now over his cruel summer
SCOT WORKING WITH WELLBEING COACH
For Scotland captain Stuart Hogg, it was the cruelest of summers. Dropped by Exeter for the finale of the English domestic season and then by the British and Irish Lions for the crucial third Test against South Africa, the 29-yearold returned home to lick his wounds and reflect on his crushing professional disappointment.
Hogg found solace from a documentary on mental health in which England’s Joe Marler spoke frankly about his own struggles for perspective in the red-hot environment of top-level sport.
Also on hand to help Hogg was Ben Scott, a wellbeing coach who Gregor Townsend had brought into the Scotland fold to work with his players.
Hogg admitted he was physically and mentally drained after a long season that culminated in the Lions tour to South Africa.
The Exeter Chiefs full-back, who has dropped nearly a stone after adhering to a strict diet and little alcohol after his summer break, believes working with Scott has made a huge difference to himself and the rest of the Scotland squad.
Scott was brought in without any fanfare by Townsend to help his squad achieve ‘the wellbeing essentials they need to be their best on and off the field’.
‘I was struggling with how the back end of last season finished, dropped for the semi-final and the final for the Exeter Chiefs and then I wasn’t selected for the third Test match,’ said Hogg.
‘That really hurt me personally and I wanted to add the one percenters to make the difference and not go back to those mindsets that I was in back then.
‘I started with Ben just after the Lions tour because I wanted to be in a position to look after myself, to plan my weekly schedules to allow time for family, a bit of me-time, and ultimately to perform at the weekend because that’s what I’m judged on.
‘It’s all about getting your purpose in life and your purpose in rugby. As soon as you get that, everything starts to become a lot easier.
‘We’ve seen examples in the last year or so at the olympics and other huge occasions where people haven’t quite been able to be themselves or perform to their full ability because the mental side wasn’t where it needs to be.
‘We’re very fortunate to have Ben in the Scotland camp and he’s worked wonders with individuals and with us as a team.
‘We’re learning all the time about the different things that help us with our mindset and mental health and he’s been absolutely tremendous.
‘It’s something that more and more boys are tapping into and for me it’s been a massive difference since the Lions tour and I’ve spoken to Ben a few times since he’s been around the camp but mostly since the Lions tour to get to where I am now.’
The Scotland captain said Scott had helped him look to the future rather than dwelling on professional disappointments.
‘We have a huge amount of opportunity to grow as individuals and work with Ben looking forward,’ said Hogg. ‘The message we’ve been picking up is that the best person brings out the best player. There’s a quote we were told that performance is 90 per cent mental health which is hugely exciting as we can tap in to more and more and what I’ve learned working with Ben is that the brain is a wonderful thing.’
Hogg revealed that he took confidence in dealing with his own mental health in the first place after he watched England international Marler open up about his problems in a documentary he fronted earlier this year.
‘It’s something I’ve probably been shying away from or hiding from for a little while but I’ve gained a huge amount of confidence from people standing up and speaking out, people like Joe Marler,’ said Hogg.
‘I watched a documentary about him towards the back end of last season and after they beat us in the Premiership final with Harlequins I said to him I could relate to 90 per cent of the things that he was going through.
‘I found it really quite refreshing that somebody else was (facing it). I wasn’t alone, I wasn’t in my own little bubble, there was somebody else going through very similar things. I had a good conversation with him after the game for a couple of minutes which made the world of difference.
‘The brain’s a weird and wonderful thing and one of the pillars that help you be the best you can possibly be. It’s hugely exciting under Ben and I haven’t even scratched the surface of what I can do. I’ve got so much more to learn.’
Hogg, who is not available for Scotland’s match against Tonga at BT Murrayfield on Saturday as it falls outside the international window, also made clear he was working on his body as well as his mind to ensure he peaks for his country in the three games after that against Australia, South Africa and Japan.
‘The biggest thing I’ve learned over the last little while is that you’ve got to look after your body and I’ve done it for a number of years, but more so now that the games are coming thick and fast,’ said Hogg. ‘I want to be in a position to play in every single game I can. It’s getting all the recovery right. It’s all about the preparation, all the planning that goes in with it and tapping into different resources and making myself available for every single game because I got to the stage at the back end of last season after playing so much rugby that my body was affecting my mood. ‘If I was stiff and sore it was affecting the way I was going around my work. For everybody that knows me I’m quite a happy and lively person and I want to be like that every single day. I don’t want to be up and down like a yo-yo, so I’m trying my best to look after my body because I know that it’s going to have to look after me on the weekends. ‘I have pretty much given up a lot of alcohol over the last while. over the summer it is good to relax and unwind but it has a big impact on how I am feeling as a person, as a sportsman so I am limiting it which has been quite refreshing. I lost a bit of weight and feel energised and ready to go again.’