Hogg has ’99 in mind as he hits his half-century
STUART HOGG was only six when Scotland last won in Paris, but hopes to emulate the boys of ’99 when he wins his 50th cap against France this afternoon.
Jim Telfer led Scotland to a 36-22 win over France in 1999, the year the Scots won the final Five Nations Championship.
And Hogg says: ‘I’ve seen a fair bit of footage over the years.
‘It’s very unfortunate that that was the last time we won there so we’re looking forward to making that right this weekend. We want to attack and score tries but everything starts up front. If we can get good set-piece, then the back three will get a lot of the ball and that’s what we’re after.
‘Everyone has a role within the squad and if we do our jobs then we’re going to score a lot of tries.
‘But if we stand back and admire their work then we’re going to be in for a long day.
‘Defensively, we will have to get into their faces and shut them down, and if we get opportunities in attack,
we need to make the most of them to keep that scoreboard ticking over.
‘We hope to play like 1999 because it takes three or four tries in the modern gameme to get victories so we need to be in a position to finish off tries.’
Hogg will l lead the team am out at the Stade de France, winning his 50th cap aged just 24. He is almost a certainty to be the Lions No 15 in New Zealand this summer, but is certainly not looking that far ahead just yet, with last weekend’s 27-22 victory over Ireland fresh in his mind. ‘In termst of highlights,hig lastla weekendw was definitely up there,’ heh added. ‘It was a phenomenalph performance,perf not completecom by any means, but that’s the exciting thing — not everything was perfect and we still won the game. Looking back, I am a lot more experienced.
‘There have been some highs and some lows, a lot of learning done along the way.
‘I keep going on about it but it’s about having fun in a Scotland jersey and winning games, using the experiences. I had to learn pretty quick, but, yeah, it’s an exciting time.’
Asked for the most memorable of his 15 Test tries to date, he insisted: ‘Every try is the exact same.
‘There have been some crackers along the way but you don’t get extra points for the flashy ones.’
‘It was and is very much a dream to play for Scotland and every opportunity I get, I take nothing for granted,’ added Hogg. ‘I just try to express myself and have some fun.
‘There is no better feeling than winning in a Scotland jersey, and I’m living the dream just now.
‘This will be a great day. But it’s not about me, it’s about us going up against France and getting the win.
‘Nothing’s going to change that.’