'Spoken a few times': Stuart Hogg tipped for a Japan league switch
Former Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw has hinted that Stuart Hogg could be tempted to join him in Japanese rugby as the Exeter Chiefs full-back weighs up his future beyond this year’s World Cup. Laidlaw, 37, is in his third season with Urayasu D-Rocks, formerly the NTT Shining Arcs, after retiring from international rugby following the last global tournament in Japan in 2019.
The veteran half-back is discussing a possible move into a coaching role with the club next year and revealed Hogg has sounded him out about the benefits of life in the Far East. “I have spoken to Stuart a few times – and a couple of other players as well,” said Laidlaw. “It seems they like the sound of the short seasons in Japan.
“Stuart is still in contract at Exeter as far as I’m aware, but I have spoken to a few players who are turning their heads and are potentially looking for something different. It is a great place to come and play for a few years, especially if like me you are at the end of your career.”
Hogg, 30, initially signed a two-year deal with Exeter in 2019 but was among a host of players – including Montpellier-bound England duo Sam Simmonds and Luke Cowan-Dickie – who had their contracts extended in July 2020.
Already Scotland’s record try-scorer, Hogg, who hopes to prove his recovery from a heel injury in time for their opening Guinness Six Nations clash against England at Twickenham on February 4, is also closing in on his 100th Test for his country and is likely to play in his third World Cup later this year.
Japan’s Rugby League One already boasts a host of international stars such as Springboks duo Faf de Klerk and Pieter-Steph du Toit and Quade Cooper and Bernard Foley of the Wallabies, while fly-half Richie Mo’unga will follow fellow All Black Beauden Barrett in taking a sabbatical in Japan next year. “There are two or three things that are intriguing to players,” Laidlaw said.“One is the length of the season because it is a lot shorter here.
“Also, if you want a different challenge, culturally and with a completely different language, players will look at it. Thirdly there is the financial aspect, not just because you can earn good money, but there is stability in many ways because all the clubs are owned by big companies.
“Most of the Japanese boys are employed by the companies and do a bit of work for them as well as playing rugby. That system works really well. The way that a lot of the South African players are doing it, they are actually playing here in Japan for Japanese clubs, making use of that short season, and then going back to South Africa. It is a model that can work for boys who still want to play international rugby.”
Scotland will again look to their totems, Hogg and fly-half Finn Russell, when they launch their Six Nations campaign against England, aiming to repeat their 38-year hoodoo-busting victory at Twickenham in 2021. Although Laidlaw is wary of the impact new head coach Steve Borthwick, whom he worked with on the 2017 Lions tour of New Zealand, will have on England, he believes the Scots should head to south-west London upbeat about their prospects of a third successive Calcutta Cup victory. “It is going to be a tough start,” he said.
“Steve Borthwick is a good coach and a good man and if anyone is going to get England going then he is probably the man for the job at the moment. It is very important that Scotland get off to a good start. They will be looking to their big players, like Stuart and Finn, to really perform and get the team going.
“Scotland have really caused England problems over the last number of years, starting in 2018 when we were able to win at Murrayfield and that crazy game in 2019 when we got a draw. Some of that was down to the way England were playing. They were defending a lot and kicking the ball away a huge amount, probably more than other teams.
“Scotland have a slightly different game plan, they like to attack and get their hands on the ball, so the way England played almost played into Scotland’s hands. That will change a little bit under Steve. If you look at that England team, they have got some excellent attackers right across the field.
“It will be a difficult game but having said that, Scotland will have a lot of confidence from the last two or three years. If you are going to get England, probably first up is a good time to get them before Steve can get his fingerprints on the team. They will go down there with a bit of confidence.”
After coming from 14-0 down to lead New Zealand 23-14 in November before letting victory slip and then thrashing Argentina in their final autumn Test, optimism is rising again for a Scotland team that has won three matches in three of their past five Six Nations campaigns but have yet to finish higher than third.
“The expectation is there probably more in Scotland than anywhere else because we believe we have got good players,” Laidlaw added. “If you look at the campaign last year, we had an excellent result against England and then a really poor performance against Wales when we were in the tussle and then got really indisciplined and gave away silly penalties. That is what cost us the game.
“Hopefully the team has learned and moved on again. They have got three games back at Murrayfield this time around so if they can get a positive result on the road first up, it sets them up well for the tournament.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Well where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
2 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
2 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
3 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to comments