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Hogg: 'Our attitude was spot on... this is just the beginning'

By Online Editors
Stuart Hogg with Sean Maitland (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Stuart Hogg believes Scotland are back on track after finally picking up his first win as skipper. The full-back gave Gregor Townsend’s under-pressure side the spark they needed after back-to-back defeats when he scored his 20th Test try against Italy with a stunning solo run in Rome.

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That set the Dark Blues on their way to a 17-0 win, with Chris Harris and Adam Hastings also crossing over at the Stadio Olimpico.

It was far from a perfect display – with the sloppy Scots wasting three gilt-edged chances to punish the Azzurri further – but Hogg was not complaining after seeing his team pick up their first Guinness Six Nations win in over a year.

It was also the new captain’s maiden victory following previous failed attempts and made all the sweeter after he was guilty of horror mistakes against Ireland and England. But the 27-year-old is now looking to double his tally when Grand Slam contenders France visit Murrayfield in two weeks’ time.

“I believed in the boys from the very beginning and believed that we could get wins in Test matches,” said the Exeter full-back. “We hadn’t performed the way we wanted to in the first couple of games. But the exciting thing is we can get better. This group is now hopefully on track.

(Continue reading below…)

How Jim Hamilton and Darren Cave predicted the match in Rome would go

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“It’s a huge confidence boost and we’ll kick on now. The challenge is to take it on to France. We’ll enjoy the win but we need to carry it on into the France game – and we’ll work very hard to do that. There’s a hell of a lot of talent in there and we can execute. I’m proud of their efforts.”

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Scotland were on a two-game try scoring drought when Hogg picked up a loose kick in centre field with 22 minutes gone. With Italy stretched, he did not hang about – darting through a gap in the hosts’ line before striding away to score in the corner.

There was no danger of a repeat of his earlier spills in this championship and from there, Scotland did not look back. Harris barged over six minutes into the second half after 17 phases of sheer Scottish grunt, while Hastings put a shine on the win late on.

Hogg said: “My try was very pleasing because it’s something we’ve worked on. There is a lot of method in the madness and thankfully we managed to come up against an unstructured defence. That’s when me and the other guys in the back three come alive. Thankfully it paid off.

“However, I do think we need to show more patience at times. The attack structure is there and we have players to get us into these positions. At times we just go a wee bit too early to try to score – and cough up the ball.

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“When we’re patient and go through the phases as we did with the Chris Harris try, that was us in control. We were calm, composed and came away with the five points. It’s a lot easier to speaking to the boys in the huddle after a victory. I said after the game that it wasn’t perfect – but nothing ever is perfect.

“Our attitude was spot on and the excitement can build because we can get better. This is just the beginning. We’re going to get better and better. And we’re going to enjoy doing it as well.”

The win relieves some of the pressure from Townsend but the head coach was just pleased to see Hogg get off the mark. He said: “Stuart scored a world-class try and he looked lively at times when he was almost through. He now celebrates his first win as captain.”

– Press Association 

WATCH: RugbyPass Rugby Explorer takes a trek through Italian rugby, stopping off in Rome and Treviso 

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Trevor 2 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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