FAMILY MAN HOGG IS ONLY FOCUSED ON GLORY
STUART HOGG is “buzzing” for his third Lions tour but dreading the downside of waving goodbye to his three children for six weeks. The Scotland captain is a proud dad to Archie, aged five, Olivia, four, and George, two, which will make Father’s Day fun today but the prospect of leaving for South Africa a week tomorrow less so.
The modern, streamlined Lions tour is a drop in the ocean compared to the three-month odysseys of old but it still represents a wrench for Hogg – as well as a long summer at home for wife Gill.
“It is tough and it gets tougher and tougher to leave the older the kids get,” said Hogg (below with Olivia).
“I remember coming back from the Six Nations on the Saturday after we had played France. On the Monday morning, I was picking up my Exeter Chiefs bag to go to work and my daughter asked, ‘Daddy, how long are you away for this time?’
“When a four-year-old asks that, it starts to hit home the impact you are having.
“You make a lot of sacrifices to get to where you want to be and that’s probably the biggest one.
“My wife and I tend to
Facetime two or three times a day when I’m away, depending on what kind of mood the kids are in and what they’re up to.
Nine times out of 10 I get half a conversation out of them. Once a week I’ll get a very good one.”
A unique Lions campaign kicks off on Saturday against Japan at Murrayfield, Hogg’s second home after Exeter’s Sandy Park.
However, Hogg’s club commitments, which have kept him and the other squad members involved in the Premiership play-offs away from the Lions’ Jersey training camp, mean he will not feature. “It would have been absolutely amazing to have played at Murrayfield for the Lions – it’s the only time in my career that it’s going to happen – but such is life. You can’t have it all your way,” said Hogg, an ambassador for Dove Men+care.
“I think it will be very, very easy to fit in for everyone joining the squad late.
“I’m a pretty open and honest bloke, and
I’ll try to integrate and I’m sure there will be a few beers to get to know everyone.
“We are all there with the same intention – to be part of a successful Lions tour.
“It is going to be different with the restrictions but every single tour is different and I’m absolutely buzzing for it.
“The ’97 Lions tour video from South Africa was what really awoke my love for rugby.
“Now there’s a chance for us to make our own bit of history.the sole focus is to come back victorious.”
Stuart Hogg is a Dove Men+care ambassador. For more rugby and fatherhood stories, follow @Dovemenuk on Twitter or @Dovemencare on Instagram