THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY
Hogg so sorry for howler as Scots let Irish off the hook
STUART HOGG last night apologised for the blunder which cost Scotland the chance of victory in their Six Nations opener against Ireland — branding it a ‘schoolboy error’.
On his first outing since being named captain, Hogg’s howler saw him fumble and drop the ball as he attempted to dot down with the try-line at his mercy.
It was an astonishing error from such a world-class player and a man who has so often been Scotland’s talisman in recent years.
With 51 minutes on the clock and his team trailing 13-6, it was a moment which could well have given Gregor Townsend’s men the impetus required to go on and win the match. They
remain without a win in Dublin since 2010, although they were much improved from their World Cup disaster back in the autumn.
Hogg could be seen holding up his hands to his team-mates in the aftermath, knowing that it had tarnished an otherwise positive performance.
‘It was just a schoolboy error,’ admitted the full-back. ‘I’m gutted with how that happened. But I can’t change what’s happened.
‘I just need to get on with it. I apologised to the boys. What will be will be and we have to move on.
‘I’m bitterly disappointed. We got ourselves into a good position after the forwards’ good work.
I’m so disappointed I couldn’t finish it off.’
Townsend backed his new
skipper to bounce back, saying: ‘Stuart has played rugby a long time, he knows you make mistakes.
‘To me, you shouldn’t be ranking mistakes, whether someone drops the ball over the try-line or in their own 22, its an error that you flush and move on.
‘I felt he was outstanding today. I thought his energy, his decisionmaking and his kicking was excellent, and he’s led the team really well the last two weeks.
‘We’ll work to get better as a group and Stuart will bounce back very quickly from that.’
With Finn Russell still posted missing, Adam Hastings stepped up for his first-ever start in the Six Nations and performed well.
After the fly-half kicked all 12 of his team’s points, Hogg said: ‘He was brilliant. I was impressed with how Adam performed, not only today but the last couple of weeks. He’s driven standards and driven us around the field incredibly well and I’m proud of his performance.’
With a Calcutta Cup clash to come against England next weekend at BT Murrayfield, Scotland have to dust themselves down and go again.
Murrayfield has not been the fortress it once was over the past couple of years and a meeting with the World Cup finalists promises to be a tough assignment.
Insisting that there were plenty of positives, Hogg continued: ‘I’m incredibly proud of the boys. We came across here with a huge task on our hands and we fronted up.
‘Our defence stood firm, something we’ve worked hard on over the last couple of weeks.
‘We feel we’re in a good place and it’s now about kicking on and learning from today come next Saturday.
‘We knew Ireland would be physical and they proved that. But our forwards stood firm and took the game to them. I felt we were in a very good place and should have won that game.’
Having conceded 14 penalties to Ireland’s nine, Hogg added: ‘We spoke about our discipline and not giving easy penalties away but we gave two or three soft ones away which relieved a lot of pressure for them.
‘That’s something we’ll address and make sure we’re not making those silly errors again.
‘But we’ve got to credit Ireland’s defence. They made it a nightmare for us at the breakdown and stood firm in those last few phases of the game.’