THE BEST IS YET TO COME
Relieving Hogg of armband could energise star full-back and benefit Scots’ cause, predicts Townsend
ON the basis that he has been demoted only a year out from the World Cup, it would be easy to view Stuart Hogg’s time as Scotland captain largely as a failure. But there were some good times. Since Hogg took over in early 2020, Scotland have beaten England twice, with one of those ending a 38-year wait for victory at Twickenham.
He captained a Scotland team which won away in Paris for the first time since 1999, whilst also becoming the nation’s top try-scorer of all-time during his period as skipper.
So, although his stint may have finished prematurely, it would be misleading to view it as wholly unsuccessful.
But, after making the decision to demote Hogg and appoint Jamie Ritchie as the new captain ahead of the Autumn Test series, Gregor Townsend made an interesting admission.
He conceded that, at times, the captaincy had perhaps become ‘a burden’ for Hogg. The obvious hope is that this move now frees him up and he can focus on playing his best rugby again.
The full-back posted on social media on Thursday about his disappointment at losing the captaincy, but insisted he’s now fully behind Ritchie and ready to give his all.
The proof will, of course, be in the pudding. Along with the demotion of Hogg, Townsend also made the incredible decision to axe Finn Russell from the squad altogether. With Australia first up at Murrayfield next weekend, Exeter Chiefs star Hogg wouldn’t be able to play in any case due to the game falling outside the official Test window.
The Scotland team will be made up of domestic players from Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors. But, for the remainder of the series and beyond, Townsend hopes Hogg has a new lease of life.
‘Stuart is someone who has been in almost every campaign for us,’ said the head coach. ‘I think this summer (Argentina series) was the first time he has missed a series.
‘Even when he was injured on the 2017
Lions tour, he managed to get over and watch a game in
Australia.
‘It’s important that as a coaching group we energise
Stuart. Our aim is to get the best out of Stuart and he will work very hard to achieve that. Getting that summer off, having his knee operated on, should set him up for a massive 12 months.
‘He has started the season a month later than he normally would if he hadn’t had the operation, so that might make him fresher come the end of the season.
‘The amount of minutes he played last year was huge, but he loves the game so much that he kept turning out for us and for Exeter when he wasn’t maybe physically in the best shape.’
Townsend was asked if he could recall any scenario from his own playing career, good or bad, where players had reacted to losing the captaincy. He continued: ‘When I got dropped as captain, I was quite glad because Rob Wainwright came back from injury.
‘I was only captain for two games for Scotland and wasn’t ready for it. But picturing myself in Stuart’s shoes now, it would have been more disappointing if I had been there for a couple of years or more.
‘So it will be disappointing. But captains change a lot in groups, in Scotland teams. I had a number of captains and the players, from my own playing experience, don’t see too much of a change.
‘If a player’s still in the team and leading in their own way then (they’re happy). The captaincy’s not like what it used to be going back to the amateur days.
‘We have a group of five people who are in charge of our culture as leaders, we’ve got four or five who are defence leaders and the same for attack.
‘So you could have the half-backs talking about how we’re going to win the game and back-rowers talking about how you stop the opposition from winning the game in defence.
And the captain might just touch on a couple of things about what the week is going to be like and how to improve the environment.
‘So there’s more than one voice. My personal view is that the players won’t see it as a huge change as we’ll be hoping Stuart speaks as much as the other leaders. Anyone in the team can speak if they feel it is right.’
Under Townsend, Scotland have a good record against Australia — beating the Wallabies all three times they have faced them.
They will then face Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina in the remaining games, before attention turns to the Six Nations and World
Cup in 2023.
Townsend admitted that his attention will now inevitably turn to how Scotland can beat either Ireland or South Africa, a necessity if they are to get out of the group at the World Cup.
He added: ‘I certainly judge our performances by: “Would that be good enough to beat South Africa? Or what do we need to do differently within that performance to beat South Africa and Ireland?”
‘We’re going to have two cracks at Ireland next year — one at Murrayfield (in Six Nations), one at Stade de France (in World Cup) — they’re both equally important.
‘There are games where you may have had a really good win, but let’s say your maul defence hasn’t been good — we know that has to be really good against South Africa.
‘So it’s about finding a way to win, and finding a way of playing with our group of players.
‘It’s not just on their physical, technical and tactical ability, but also handling the big moments better, because World Cups are usually about tight games and you have to deliver as a team in those moments.
‘That’s why the summer tour, while it was so frustrating to be scored against in the last play of the game and lose the Test series after a game in which we had played our best rugby of the season, is going to be a huge learning for us when it comes to playing South Africa and Ireland at the World Cup, and obviously the games up ahead in the next 12 months.’
He started the season late, so might be fresh come the end of it