HOGG unleashed
Talisman fired up for Six Nations
UNLEASHED and unstoppable. After returning to the Glasgow Warriors line up with aplomb on Saturday, Stuart Hogg stated his belief that Scotland can ‘do some damage’ in the forthcoming Six Nations. You can see his point.
It took him just 71 seconds into his comeback match to prove that, after two months out following a hip problem then an ankle injury, he was fit and raring to go.
Indeed, Hogg kept going for the full 80 minutes and dispelled any concerns he wouldn’t be ready for Scotland’s opening Six Nations match against Wales in just under a fortnight’s time.
His try, in the first attack of the game, was vintage Hogg. Having joined the attacking line, he was screaming for the ball.
Finn Russell made a break, George Horne played the pass and Hogg, on his shoulder, took the ball under the posts. It was his very first touch of the game.
Dave Rennie, the Glasgow boss, was no doubt delighted. Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend equally so.
Hogg was then involved in touchdowns for Tommy Seymour and Matt Fagerson. Just to add further sheen to his display.
His attention now turns to taking on Wales in Cardiff as he joined up with the rest of the Scotland squad at the team hotel on the outskirts of Edinburgh last night to prepare for the Six Nations.
‘We (Scotland) can do some damage in the Six Nations, so we will work incredibly hard and concentrate on the Wales game from now on,’ said Hogg.
‘We had a good autumn and almost beat the All Blacks, but that’s in the past. We can look and learn from that though and look at how to improve.
‘We can get excited about the challenge ahead as the Six Nations is huge, everybody watches it.’
Simply being back out on the pitch for the first time after having to pull out 20 minutes before the start of Scotland’s win over Australia back in November was a huge relief for Hogg.
‘I feel fresh,’ he maintained. ‘I had been sitting on my backside for long enough and it was great to play again.
‘I had fun out there. I have been frustrated watching from the sidelines because of my injury, so I just wanted to get involved as much as I possibly could against Exeter.
‘It has been a tough old season having to stand back and watch the boys play and be in rehab — but it was great to help the team to what was a cracking result.
‘Hopefully, my injury problems are over now going into the Six Nations. First there was the hip injury then I rolled my ankle in training and found myself back to square one. It has been a challenging year but, hopefully, I can kick on personally now.’
There was nothing at stake for Glasgow apart from pride — and they restored some of it with the win over the current English league champions that ended their hopes of qualification from Pool 3.
It was the Warriors’ first and only European Champions Cup win out of six attempts but, like Hogg’s comeback, the timing of the impressive victory could not have been better.
‘It is always easier going into the Scotland camp after a good victory,’ he continued. ‘All the boys had smiles on their faces and everybody seemed to enjoy that today.
‘It is all about taking that feeling from the win over Exeter into the Scotland camp.
‘It was a good confidence boost all round. These are exciting times. The Six Nations is just round the corner. It is important the Glasgow boys involved recover and get ready to fire into that.’
The recovery of Hogg from injury wasn’t the only reason for Townsend to breathe a sigh of relief. Winger Seymour, who missed the last three weeks with a toe injury, was in equally good form after his enforced lay-off. It was Hogg who broke up the touchline before lofting a pass inside to Peter Horne, who played in Seymour for one of the tries of the Champions Cup. Hogg and Seymour then combined to play in back-row forward Matt Fagerson for the third try that secured a deserved victory for Glasgow.
The bad news for Scotland was that centre Alex Dunbar was forced off with a head knock that makes him a doubt for the Six Nations opener, although Townsend is well covered in that position.
The same can’t be said about hooker after George Turner, the understudy to first-choice Stuart McInally, had to leave the field with a knee issue.
Referee Romain Poite was heard shouting ‘bad injury, knee injury’ after Turner’s team-mate, Matt Smith, landed on top of him.
The only other hooker in the Scotland squad right now is 36-year-old Scott Lawson, who hasn’t featured for his country for more than three years.
Ross Ford is unavailable with a shoulder injury, while Fraser Brown is continuing to struggle with concussion.
‘George is out with a head knock and we are not sure about the severity of that injury,’ revealed Rennie. ‘On the positive side, however, I thought both Stuart Hogg and Tommy Seymour were great after being out through injury.
‘Hoggy is so enthusiastic and can stretch teams. That is only his third game for us this year. Ruaridh Jackson has done a fantastic job in his absence, but Stuart Hogg is one of the best in the world.’