HOGG’S COMEBACK BOOSTS WARRIORS
Rennie reveals returning star is quicker than ever as he gears up for Leinster
STRAINING to be unleashed? It certainly sounds like it. And little wonder, given what Stuart Hogg has missed since misfortune befell him four long months ago.
It was Saturday, June 10, that the Glasgow Warriors full-back last took to the field of play. It would prove a fateful day, one that brought a premature end to his tour of New Zealand with the British and Irish Lions.
Tipped to be the starting No 15 for the Tests against the All Blacks, Hogg collided with Irish team-mate Conor Murray’s elbow in a warmup match against the Crusaders.
It left him with a facial fracture and on a flight home. On his return to Scotland, he had an operation on an underlying shoulder issue and has been left on the sidelines since. Watching. Waiting. Now he is back. And, to listen to Warriors head coach Dave Rennie, he is stronger, faster and more dangerous than ever.
Indeed, Hogg’s blistering pace in training wouldn’t shame Olympic legend Usain Bolt. And it was his sheer speed in a fitness test two days ago that convinced Rennie to include him in his starting XV to face Leinster in today’s European Champions Cup clash at Scotstoun.
‘Hoggy’s broken the Glasgow club record for straight-out speed,’ revealed Rennie. ‘On Thursday, he ran 36.8km/hour. It’s massive, just over ten metres per second.
‘We’ve been able to personalise his return to play following his shoulder operation and a lot of that is about getting him more powerful and explosive and leaner and faster. Hoggy’s always been quick. He’s just quicker than ever now. He’s got himself into the best nick of his life. Since his operation, he is leaner.’
It will be the first time since he took the reins at Warriors that Rennie has had Hogg at his disposal. And there was no disguising the Kiwi’s delight at being able to select the Scotland full-back.
‘He is pretty handy, isn’t he?’ said Rennie. ‘He has been voted best player in the Six Nations for the past two years and is quality.
‘He has a massive kicking game, he’s electric on the field and is really demanding. He’ll put pressure on other guys and challenge them to perform well.
‘His energy is infectious. He will be rusty in places but he is a quality player who can make a difference.’
Hogg has been chomping at the bit the past fortnight for a return after missing all seven games this season recovering from his operation. He had wanted to play in the away loss to Exeter Chiefs but Rennie didn’t believe he was ready.
The head coach was thinking about utilising him on the bench against Leinster — until Hogg convinced him otherwise.
‘He showed us in training he is comfortable with starting and so are we,’ said Rennie.
‘We thought of starting Ruaridh Jackson against Leinster and bringing Hoggy off the bench. But Ruaridh has played eight games of 80 minutes, when you take in the two pre-season games and deserves a breather, so we’ve brought Hoggy straight in to start.
‘He was determined to be in the mix last week, but we just wanted to make sure his introduction was right as he hadn’t played since the
summer.’ Leinster are equally delighted to welcome back captain Johnny Sexton, who missed the opening-day win over Montpellier with a dead leg. Rennie knows the Lions flyhalf is the man who makes them tick and has told his players to be on him from the kick-off. ‘He’s been a great Ireland player for many years and for Leinster,’ said Rennie. ‘He is a massive influence. We’re going to have to put him under a bit of heat and try to unsettle his and their rhythm.’ It will be a fascinating head-tohead between Sexton and opposite number Finn Russell, who had a mixed-bag in the loss to Exeter. He set up Tommy Seymour’s try with a superb cross-kick and put over a conversion and a penalty. But the Scotland stand-off’s handling was way below par and he failed to boss the game. Now, there is pressure on him to improve against Sexton and Leinster. Rennie also identified the scrum as another area where Glasgow need to get better. Losing hooker Fraser Brown to injury is a blow.
And now, the relatively inexperienced front row of Jamie Bhatti, George Turner and Zander Fagerson will go up against Irish internationals Cian Healy, Tadhg Furlong and Sean Cronin.
‘The consistency of our scrum has been an issue for us,’ said Rennie. ‘On our first scrum against Exeter we were dominant but then we got put under pressure, so we know we have to be at our best in that area against Leinster.’ GLASGOW: Hogg, Seymour, Johnson, Horne, Sarto; Russell, Price; Bhatti, Turner, Fagerson, Swinson, Gray, Wilson, Gibbins, Ashe. Replacements: MacArthur, Allan, Rae, Cummings, Harley, Pyrgos, Grigg, Jones. LEINSTER: Carbery; McFadden, Henshaw, Reid, Daly; Sexton, McGrath; Healy, Cronin, Furlong, Toner, Fardy, Ruddock, van der Flier, Conan. Replacements: Tracy, Jack McGrath, Bent, Ryan, Leavy, Gibson-Park, Byrne, Kearney.