Hogg in tears as injury cuts short Lions adventure
● Lions full-back admits to tears when he learned his tour was over
Stuart Hogg was warned that he risked losing his sight if he took a further blow on the eye socket injury which has ruled him out of the remainder of the British and Irish Lions series in New Zealand.
The Scotland full-back broke down in tears when he was told his tour was over but has now accepted that it would have been foolhardy to risk trying to play again.
Hogg sustained the injury during the Lions’ 12-3 win over the Crusaders on Saturday when he collided unwittingly with team-mate Conor Murray’s elbow as the Ireland scrum-half sought to let the Glasgow back launch a firsthalf counter attack.
Warren Gatland, the Lions head coach, revealed four specialists were consulted before Hogg was ruled out of the rest of the tour.
“It was just a freak accident,” Gatland said of the clash with Murray. “He’s absolutely gutted. We’re feeling for him.
“We saw about four different specialists: one of them said he’d be alright and another said it’s potentially serious and that he could lose his sight if he plays.
“We told him it was only a game of rugby and he understood that.”
Hogg, who was vying for a place in the Test side, admitted the news came as a huge blow. “I am absolutely devastated to be leaving the Lions,” Hogg wrote in his column in the Daily Telegraph. “It means everything to me to be part of this tour and when, on Monday night, I first got the news that I had suffered a facial fracture and had to come home, I cried.
“I have done several times since then, too. It is tough, really tough, to take.
“I had been prepared for the worst when I sat down with Eanna Falvey, the Lions doctor, and Bob Stewart, the physio, and they explained the results of the scan and various opinions from the specialists. Yet it still hit me incredibly hard.
“As much as I love being at home, I do not believe I am ready to go. It still has not quite sun kin yet th a ti am going. if eel my game has been getting better and better in New Zealand and I was a lot more confident going into the second game against the Crusaders.
“The advice, though, was that I could risk my sight if I received another bang. My eye socket is fractured and the medical advice was unanimous.
“We got three opinions from specialists and they all said I should not play on.
“I am not going to argue with them. I have to look at the longterm. My sight is a hell of a lot more important than rugby.
“[Head coach] Warren Gatland agreed. He spoke to me afterwards and said he was so disappointed for me. But he said we could not gamble with my eye and there is more to life than rugby, even though it kills me to say that. It is not something I am prepared to take a risk with.”
The Lions are not expected to call up a replacement, defence coach Andy Farrell suggesting that the tourists already have enough options to offset Hogg’s absence.
Nevertheless, the early departure of the Hawick man is a blow to the tourists and Gatland added: “It is hugely disappointing for Stuart to have to return home early and for us to lose one of our touring party.
“Stuart has been a key member of our squad on and off the field and it is disappointing to see injury cut short his time with us in New Zealand.
“We all wish him the best with his recovery and we look forward to seeing him back in action in the future.”
Hogg would have been one of the main backline talents Gatland would have expected to deliver the “X-factor” attacking play he has been seeking in New Zealand. Ireland’s versatile backline operator Jared Payne wore the 15 shirt against the Highlanders, while Leigh
Halfpenny ought to be favourite to start at full-back for the Test series.
England’s Elliot Daly and Wales’ Liam Williams can also operate at full-back, while the speedy Anthony Watson showed up well in the role against the Crusaders after Hogg’s injury.
Farrell insisted that the tourists had picked a 41-man group for the tour with one eye on the unforgiving nature of top-level rugby.
“We’ve got a big squad and a lot of people in place to cover different positions,” said the defence coach.
“We picked a bigger squad this time round than we did for the last tour, simply because of the schedule – not just the games but the travel time and the amount of time we’re going to have on the training field together.”
For Hogg, meanwhile, it is a devastating end to his second Lions tour of duty. He was the youngest member of the squad in Australia in 2013 when he was just 20 and he had high hopes of breaking into the Test side this time around. He played in the opening win over the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians as well as the Crusaders match.
“It is an honour to have been involved in a second British and Irish Lions tour and I have hugely enjoyed my time with the squad and I’m very excited about the potential of this group,” he said.
“I’mdisappointedtobeleaving in this way but wish all the squad the best in the coming weeks and will be cheering them on from home.”