WIZARD PLANS MAGIC MOMENT
Hogg is plotting to cast his spell on England and gain revenge for last year’s rout
THE magic and wizardry in Stuart Hogg’s feet has already earned him a special mention from one of the Scottish rugby team’s most famous fans, JK Rowling. With a flash of quickstep and family connections to George Best, the full-back certainly has the ability to light up any game.
But memories of last year’s shocking 20-0 defeat by England at Murrayfield still pain the Melrose-born 22-year- old, even though he remains hopeful about unlocking the curse of Twickenham, where the Scots have not won since 1983.
England’s World Cup-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward was particularly scathing of the Scotland performance that day under Scott Johnson, claiming they were so toothless they would have been beaten by an also-ran Aviva Premership side.
‘Last year’s game is one that we always keep in the back of our minds,’ said Hogg. ‘We never, ever want to experience anything like that again. It was probably the worst game I’ve ever been involved with in a Scotland jersey. Our performance was really poor but we’ll draw upon that experience when we go down there.’
Looking out onto the scene of that Murrayfield defeat, Hogg speaks candidly about England’s second- class opinions of Scottish rugby. He carries his heart on his sleeve on and off the field, with obvious frustrations about his nation’s fruitless campaigns.
He recalls the childhood days spent playing full contact rugby on concrete i n the Scottish Borders and the afternoons working as a ball-boy for his local club.
The speed and footwork that will be on show on Saturday, he reveals, were first used for mischievous after-school escapades in Hawick.
‘I had a bit of pace when I was younger, so I could get away with things,’ revealed Hogg. ‘I was quite cheeky, always winding up people a nd my mum would say: “You get away with murder.”
‘We used to play knock-door-run and then hide somewhere you could see f olk opening the door.
‘The street I lived on was shaped like a horseshoe and we had another game called the Grand National. There were 20 houses and you would start at the first, running through all the gardens, jumping over the hedges and trying not to get caught.’
Hogg was soon tearing down rugby pitches and went on to make his Scotland debut as a 19-year-old, coming on as a substitute against Wales.
Having idolised Scots pair Cameron Murray, Gregor Townsend and Irish legend Brian O’Driscoll, he became the youngest player on the 2013 Lions tour to Australia where the coaches singled out his ‘X-factor’.
‘You want to get people on their feet and cheering,’ said Hogg. ‘Having fun is about beating pl ayers and s mashing players.
‘The challenge for the modern-day coach is how you break down these big defences.
There are l ots of things you can do using footwork and chip kicks. The entertainment is still there, it has to be, or you won’t get 60,000 people coming to watch.
‘With Scotland, we go out there to enjoy and express ourselves. I love running with the ball and the more space that we can create, the better.’
Hogg’s box-office style caught the eye of distant relatives in Northern Ireland, prompting them to get in touch and uncover the family connection to Manchester United legend Best through his late grandmother.
Keeping up the sporting tradition, Hogg played as a defender in Junior football — although he claims to have had ‘ the touch of a baby elephant’ — and is a fair-weather Celtic and Arsenal supporter.
But rugby has always been his first love and he remains hopeful that Scotland can deliver on the promise shown during head coach Vern Cotter’s first autumn campaign last year.
A narrow defeat by the All Blacks and victories over Argentina and Tonga suggested a change in fortunes.
However, the Six Nations’ defeats by France, Wales and Italy have stunted any progress made.
The Scots are huge underdogs for the final two matches, against the Auld Enemy and Ireland, but Hogg is convinced they can still salvage something from a campaign in which they are in danger of picking up the wooden spoon.
‘ Vern Cotter (below) was fairly quiet when he first came in but he is used to the environment now,’ said Hogg.
‘A spade’s a spade with Vern. He’ll not miss and hit the wall if he’s got something to say.
‘In the past, the Scots have had a good autumn and then not backed it up in the Six Nations. We said that we didn’t want that to be the case this time — but, unfortunately, it’s not started the way we wanted.
‘But we still have two games that we’re more than capable of winning.
‘Against England, we need to shut down their key players, George Ford and Jonathan Joseph. They have been on fire of late. We played against them a couple of times with Glasgow, so we know what they’re about.’ And what about those links with celebrity fan JK Rowling? she has mentioned on her website
Pottermore that the fleet-footed Hogg might be a Squib. In Harry Potter- speak, that means a person born to a least one magical parent, a wizard-born Muggle. Hogg, for his part, will hope to discover his inner-wizard at Twickenham this weekend. ‘I’ve met her a couple of times and she’s a really nice lady,’ said Hogg. ‘I watch all the Harry Potter films, so maybe we can have some of that magic.’