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Exeter deliver update on severity of Stuart Hogg's hamstring injury five and a half weeks before 2021 Six Nations start
Rob Baxter has allayed fears that Stuart Hogg is a major Six Nations doubt for Scotland after Gregor Townsend’s Test level skipper limped out of last Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership win by Exeter over Gloucester at Sandy Park. It was near the interval when Hogg departed the action to be replaced by Tom Hendrickson in a league game eventually won by Exeter on a 28-20 scoreline.
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Four days later, the definite prognosis on his injury is uncertain but Baxter is confident that Hogg will be back in harness for the Exeter European pool finale, either against Toulouse on January 16 or the following week back at Hogg’s old stomping ground of Scotstoun in Glasgow.
That update will be a relief to Scotland fans who would have been worried that the hamstring problem could be serious enough to leave Exeter full-back Hogg in a race against time to be fit for his country’s 2021 Six Nations opener away to England on February 6.
“You saw Stuart Hogg came off early against Gloucester with a tight hamstring. He looks doubtful. We are still assessing him. He has had a scan. It doesn’t look too bad but he is a doubt,” said Baxter on Wednesday morning ahead of next Saturday’s Premiership trip to Wasps.
“We’re hopeful that he will be back in and around the latest in Europe. It’s like anything with these initial periods of these injuries, what a lot of medical teams would tell you is the swelling etc makes people relatively hard to assess. At this stage, we are hoping it is relatively short-term and yes it will be Europe and he will be back available for Scotland as well.
You can't stop @samsimmonds_ from that range ?
The number 8 scored his 2??nd of the day to secure @ExeterChiefs' BP in a 28-20 win ?
Just how good is this current Chiefs team?#GallagherPrem highlights and full match replay ?? https://t.co/BC3dgE9Fgt pic.twitter.com/3r0GjR2MdG
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) December 27, 2020
“Jannes Kirsten came off with a bang to his eye, he is a doubt, so we have picked up a few injuries but every team is picking up injuries. Wasps picked up injuries as well. That is the nature of the game at the minute, organising and managing our squads is what it is all about at the moment. All you can do through this period is keep fighting and hoping that the guys who get on the field can see things through.”
Exeter’s win over Gloucester was a successful return to action for the Chiefs after they had seen their round two European game away at Toulouse cancelled due to a Covid outbreak in their ranks, an issue they weren’t given the all-clear from until late on Christmas Eve.
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“Was it a bit of a fraught week? It was. We had very low training numbers of only people who continually tested negative right through the process which meant the team never ran together. The tests that allowed us to play on Boxing Day we didn’t get our last tests in until half-eleven on Christmas Eve,” explained Baxter.
“One of the last things I did on Christmas Eve was I spoke to Tony Rowe to say that’s it, all the tests are in now, and we had a 100 per cent right through, completely negative for everyone tested and it was only at that stage that Tony was able to give the staff at Sandy Park the OK that the game was definitely going ahead.
“The positive is we got through it all and we got the team on the field who, despite it not being their best performance, did enough to get us a bonus-point win against what was a good performance from Gloucester.”
Exeter’s looming trip to Wasps comes ten weeks after the sides met at Twickenham in the 2019/20 final, a showpiece that eventually went the way of the Chiefs. Baxter is looking forward to the challenge the rematch will pose.
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“I have been watching their games and I’m expecting them [Wasps] to be good. They are enjoying how they are playing. They are playing with a lot of energy. A very good win up at Sale. Nobody appreciates more than myself how tough it is to go up there and get a win. They have got confidence.
“There will be an element of them wanting to get their own back from the final to prove a point. We’re going to have to turn up there and have a little bit more energy than we had at the weekend which I am assuming we will do and just get ready for what will be a fast-paced game. It’s something we’re needing as well, a tough challenging game away from home. They should be the things that start to get you ready for the return to Europe.”
“I just had to remind him if he wants a career like Jimmy Gopperth, get yourself out of there pal"
– Wasps' Charlie Atkinson has bounced back from getting flattened by Owen Farrell, but youthful enthusiasm kinks need ironing out #GallagherPrem https://t.co/gkJlUsWPpF
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 30, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
Exciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
11 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
3 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
26 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
3 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
3 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
11 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
26 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
2 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
5 Go to commentsTrue Jordie could earn a lot more in Japan. But by choosing Leinster he’ll be playing with 1 of the best clubs in the world and can win a champions cup and URC…..
6 Go to commentsThanks for that Marshy, noticed you didn't say who is gonna win it. We know who ain't gonna win it - your Crusaders outfit. They've gone from having arguably the best Super Rugby first five ever, to having a clutch of rookies. Hurricanes all the way!
1 Go to commentsGeez you really have to question the NRLs ability to produce players of quality. Its pathetic. Dont the 25mil in Aus produce enough quality womens players. Sad.
1 Go to commentsBulls fan here, and agree 100% with the conclusion (and little else) of this article. SA sides should absolutely f-off from the champs cup until we get fair scheduling, equal support for travel arrangements and home semis. You know, like all the european teams get.
26 Go to comments