Hogg’s rise to the top is no surprise to Paterson
CHRIS PATERSON, Scotland’s record cap holder, believes Stuart Hogg is one of the best players in the world, and he feels the 24-year-old still has much more left in the tank as he approaches his 50th international cap this weekend.
Like everyone else in the country, Paterson watched on Saturday as the Glasgow Warriors full-back bagged two tries in the first-half of the RBS 6 Nations opener against Ireland.
The Scots held on to win 27-22 and afterwards, when he spoke to the press, Hogg was sporting a wide smile and stated “that was one of my best days in a Scotland jersey”.
And Paterson, who played a lot of his 109 Tests in the same position as Hogg and retired the year before he burst on to the international scene in 2012, has paid tribute to the Hawick lad as he looks set to hit the half-century in France on Sunday.
“I first was aware of Stuart Hogg when he was about 16 or 17 years of age and he was on the rugby course run by [now member of the Scotland coaching team] Richie Gray at the Borders College,” Paterson recounts.
“We were playing a game of touch on my visit there and this nippy little youngster with a bit to say for himself shot by me and showed incredible footwork. We then had a kicking competition and, boy, could this young guy kick the ball far. I said to Richie straight away, ‘Who is this young kid?’ and Richie smiled and said, ‘We have high hopes for him. As you have just seen, he has some talent’.
“When you see talented young players you know they all won’t go on and make it to the top of the game for various different reasons because the path to pro rugby can be a tough one. However, after that day I always kept an eye on how Stuart was doing and it didn’t surprise me when he started to get tongues wagging with his performances for Hawick YM and Hawick on the Kings of the Sevens circuit.
“Everywhere you went in the Borders at that time people would stop and ask you about this young guy and it was clear that he had something different, that ‘X factor’ that everyone talks about and craves, but very rarely finds.”
It was back in 2009 when Hogg came to the attention of the wider rugby audience in the local sevens events. His eye for a gap, his footwork and speed were very impressive for a teenager and, from there, his rise has been rapid. He was soon turning out for Scotland at age-grade level and was signed up by Glasgow Warriors.
A debut came for the pro side at the age of just 19 in early 2011 and then in early 2012 he scored an amazing try on his Scotland ‘A’ debut in a win over the England Saxons at Netherdale.
Scotland’s second string won 35-0 and Paterson said: “Stuart picked up the ball some 60 metres out in that one and seemed to go past the whole England team for his try, and the place went crazy. That is when people knew he had the temperament and the skill to go well at the top level. It has been great to watch him become the player he is today.
“Through my work with Scottish Rugby I have been lucky enough to work with him at various times over the past few years and what strikes me most about him is his willingness to keep on learning.
“Some young players who climb the levels quickly can rest on their laurels and perhaps stop working as hard, but I have never seen that with Stuart. He is always working hard and trying to get the edge on opponents while he is not scared to ask the coaches around him questions to help him improve.
“What is also so good about him is that he has stayed grounded and is a great role model to youngsters who are coming into the game now. He can often be seen back down in Hawick watching the first XV or the local youth teams play and that is an inspiration to others. He has a good family around him and is grounded and he is just a very exciting player to watch – the kind you would pay to see play – and he gets crowds cheering and excited which, at the end of the day, is what it is all about.”
Many feel that Hogg is already a certainty to be the British & Irish Lions starting No.15 in the Tests in New Zealand this summer.
Paterson said: “Certainly if he keeps going the way he is then Stuart has got to be firmly in Warren Gatland’s thoughts for that spot and to go on a second Lions tour at his age would be quite something.”