Hogg Warts
A compelling tale of rugby wizardry and chaos
SUNDAY will be a momentous day in Stuart Hogg’s storied career. The Scotland full-back is set to win his 100th cap against Ireland ahead of a pivotal Six Nations fixture, becoming only the fourth player to join the hallowed centurions club (alongside Ross Ford, Chris Paterson and Sean Lamont) in the dark navy jersey.
The 30-year-old is unquestionably one of the greatest players to represent his country. A devastating broken-field runner, Hogg has been lighting up international rugby pitches since he made his
Test debut as a 19-year-old against Wales in 2012.
Yet he remains something of a polarising figure among Scotland supporters. There is a sense that Hogg does not command the same levels of gravitas and acclaim as many of his Irish counterparts, for example. Consider the eight-strong list of Ireland players who have reached a century of caps in the green jersey: Conor Murray recently joining a crew which includes Brian O’Driscoll, Ronan O’Gara, Rory Best, Cian Healy, Johnny Sexton, Paul O’Connell and John Hayes.
All of those mentioned above are rugby royalty in this part of the world. Prime real estate on The Late Late Show couch.
It’s never been that way with Hogg. It’s something of a conundrum. This, after all, is a salt-ofthe-earth character who was born and bred in Hawick deep in the Scottish borders, a rugby hotbed. It’s a place with no airs or graces and, as Hogg has pointed out many times, where the locals are not shy in letting the air out of inflated egos.
This is a player who learned his trade in a rugby heartland and went straight from Borders College to the Glasgow Warriors academy, turning pro at age 19. Hogg has toured with the Lions across the expeditions to Australia (2013), New Zealand (2017) and South Africa (2021).
His achievements don’t stop there. He has scored 27 international tries and has represented his country at two World Cups (2015 and 2019). What’s more, he was named Six Nations Player of the championship in 2016 and 2017. The only player to claim back-to-back awards since Brian O’Driscoll.
In his short stint as captain (more on that later), he led his country to a first win at Twickenham since 1983, and a first away victory in France since 1999 during the 2021 Six Nations. He was instrumental in Glasgow’s charge to Pro12 glory in 2015 and helped Exeter Chiefs to a Premiership and Heineken Champions Cup double in 2020.
The fleet-footed full-back is also a distant relative of George Best.
JK Rowling is one of many fans from the mainstream as well.
The most decorated Scottish player in history? Hogg has few competitors on that front. And, still, he hasn’t felt the love for long swathes of a brilliant career.
Just last year, he admitted he considered walking away from the game.
In November 2022, he hit out at critics of his appearance on social media. ‘OK I get it. I find it incredibly frustrating and annoying that my appearance has somehow taken over my ability to play rugby according to “fans” of the game.
‘My hair. My teeth. My f***ing choice with what I do. No matter how many times it’s heckled, written, commentated on, I will continue to be me. Why? Because I’ve every f***ing right to.
‘I have a man bun. I have had dental treatment. Give over it’s old news. Find something more interesting to do with your lives.’
A month before that, he told BT Sport that he considered packing it in for good.
‘I come across as a happy, confident person, but deep down I’ve struggled and I’ve hated it,’ he admitted at the time. ‘And I’ve actually been very, very close at times to thinking “why am I putting myself through all this stress and strains, my body’s feeling absolutely horrendous and I’m getting dogs abuse at the weekend?”.
Things hadn’t been going well on the pitch either.
Hogg was part of a group of six players — along with Finn Russell, Ali Price, Darcy Graham, Sam Johnson and Sione Tuipolotu — who had been disciplined internally for visiting a bar after the Six Nations win against Italy during the 2022 Six Nations.
Things came to a head in the week leading up to the finalround game against Ireland in Dublin. Hogg, who had been appointed captain by Gregor Townsend in 2020, was grilled by the Scottish media after his side’s 26-5 defeat.
It didn’t help that Hogg had botched a try a near certain try in the corner, bringing back memories of another clanger near the Irish whitewash on his previous visit to Aviva Stadium in 2020.
After a spiky press conference, Hogg was heard muttering ‘I’ll not miss that’ as he left the room. Hogg was relieved of the captaincy ahead of the autumn internationals, with Edinburgh flanker Jamie Ritchie taking the armband. It wasn’t the first time that
head coach and Hogg had
“He hasn’t felt the love during his career”
“Nobody can debate his natural talent”
fallen out either. There was a bump in the road in 2014. Hogg was angling for a move to Ulster after growing frustrated at Glasgow.
He was frozen out for the tailend of the season, but broken bridges were eventually mended.
‘I made a mistake and it became a significant moment in my career,’ he told The Times (London) in December 2017.
‘I said “sorry” and I was sorry. I tried to leave the club because I thought I was better than it. I’d tried to get a move to Ulster, and I actually didn’t play for about four months that season because of the dispute. The team got to the Pro12 final that year and were beaten by Leinster.
‘I watched that match, not being picked, and I thought to myself, “what the hell are you doing? I realised I had made a big mistake.’ True, there’s been transgressions, indiscipline and maybe a bit of petulance at times, but no one can debate Hogg’s natural talent on the pitch. He has played a big role in a Scotland squad which looks aligned, harmonious and potent in 2023. They are not the type of labels you could affix to Townsend’s crew for many years. Plenty of people have opinions on him, but Hogg has earned the plaudits this weekend.