Toony backs Hogg to lead from the back
Gregor Townsend has backed Stuart Hogg to follow in the footsteps of legend Gavin Hastings and become a great Scotland skipper.
The coach issued his confident forecast as he jetted out with his squad to Spain to put the finishing touches to his 6 Nations preparations.
Townsend and Co kick off their campaign against Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.
And in the wake of the Finn Russell affair, the whole group will be glad of a change of scene on the Costas.
The Ireland showdown will be Hogg’s first competitive match in charge following the sacking of World Cup leader Stuart McInally and retirement of veteran armband-holders Greig Laidlaw and John Barclay.
Toony declared: “We talked about whether it was a good idea to have your full-back as captain, because it is quite unusual in international rugby.
“There was the possible issue of him being too far from the action at times.
“But I remember when I played at 10 and 13 under Gav and it all worked really well.
“It was tremendous to have someone like him around to give me confidence to play.
“I know the effect it can have on players to have the skipper in these areas.”
Townsend added: “We will have other senior guys – particularly in the pack – who will have dialogue with referees when necessary
“Hoggy was always a very strong candidate to take the job, given his experience at this level, his natural sense of leadership and his desire to fill the role.
“It can be very challenging and I met him a couple of times to go through how he would approach the appointment.
“I was impressed by his answers and the thought process that he’s gone into.
“He’s a mature player in terms of what he contributes in meeting.
“He’s very consistent and really passionate about Scotland, about playing for the jersey and helping the team win.
“He has coped really well recently with going to a new club, having to adapt to new coaches and a new way of playing.
“I think he will do an excellent job and he’s going to be supported with some long-serving players around him.
“He’s going to work to bring the best out of them.”
Toony admitted the Spanish jaunt was a copy-cat exercise.
He explained: “If we were playing at home, we’d have stayed at home.
“But we decided to make a whole week of it somewhere different – just as Ireland and England have done in recent years by going to Spain or Portugal.
“The benefits are the weather, you’re in a close-knit group, so there’s that feeling of being together.
“England went from Portugal straight to Dublin and won – so that’s the plan for us too.
“We haven’t delivered our best performances away from home – not just in the last couple of years, but the last 20 years.
“We need to look at what we do early in games so we’re still in the fights in the second half.
“We’ve got to make sure we are tougher to beat and have confidence that we can win away from Murrayfield.
“Everyone has to work together to make sure we get to Dublin with the right state of mind and deliver close to our best rugby. That’s all you ask from a team.
“We just want to play as close to our potential as possible, home and away.”