Hogg: 'I absolutely hated it... but there was method in the madness'
Stuart Hogg had just finished up an interview with his old mucker Finn Russell on Wednesday in Bath when he popped up on the RugbyPass Zoom for a quick catch-up on his new life as a TV pundit.
It was July 9 when he called it quits as a player, bringing forward the retirement that was set to take place in October when Scotland’s participation at the Rugby World Cup was over.
Just 10 days after that shock announcement that he wouldn’t be playing at France 2023, TNT Sports unveiled him as the latest edition to their Gallagher Premiership punditry panel.
Hogg looked nervous when RugbyPass last encountered him, exhibiting pre-transmission butterflies with his muted response when this writer said hello at the media entrance in Marseille on the September day of the Scotland versus South Africa pool match where he was a World Rugby Content Studios guest.
Hogg has since made his TNT bow and ahead of his latest appearance this Sunday on the Sandy Park sidelines, he shed light on how the transition into his new career is going. “I was always nervous before a game, nervous excitement,” he admitted.
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“There were a couple of times I was worried that I wasn’t nervous. I used to be nervous before a game whereas now it’s a completely different thing. You can screw up on a rugby field, but you can’t really screw up in a broadcast.
“I am enjoying it; it’s challenging but I’m loving it. Absolutely love it. Like anything in life, you have got to learn and adapt and overcome challenges and it’s now an opportunity to learn new things in the broadcasting world.”
Hogg has been looking dapper in front of the cameras, his stash of products from Johnstons of Elgin coming in handy to ward off the creeping winter cold. “That’s dad’s line of work but I am still a big fan of the Cashmere. It will be coming more and more out of the wardrobe now it’s getting a bit chillier,” he admitted.
Hogg’s retirement from playing was accompanied by his admission that his 31-year-old body was no longer up to the rigours of the professional game. Four months on, a variety of aches and pains are still with him but the silver lining to no longer being contracted as a player is the leeway he now has to publicise his enthusiasm for horse riding.
His Instagram has plenty of recent shots of him in the saddle, images he wouldn’t have dared publish as a player as that type of activity would have been frowned upon by his rugby employers. Now, though, the coast is clear. “That’s in the blood, horse riding,” he enthused.
“I have done it for a long, long time and just more recently been allowed to post about it. Under contract, you are not meant to do that kind of thing but it has been amazing to get back in. I have got three horses at home, so it’s an easy escape from the kids because horses don’t speak back to you.
“I wouldn’t say the body is right. It’s definitely something that is a little bit challenging on the body. It’s the knees that struggle but I’m not too bad. I’ll tell you at the minute I am struggling with my back. With all this enjoyable travel, nothing is easy on the body, especially when it comes to the winter months when it’s a bit chillier. I feel I have a 70-year-old man’s body before my time.”
Given that painful self-prognosis, it’s just as well then that he is no longer competing for a place in Rob Baxter’s XV.
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It was 2019 when Hogg traded Glasgow for Exeter and while the switch resulted in a Champions Cup/Premiership double being secured in October 2020, his four-season stint had its difficulties – including the way selection went against him at the end of the 2022/23 campaign after he had informed the head coach about his intention to hand up the boots.
“From an Exeter point of view, they genuinely couldn’t care what has been and gone and who went out the door last summer; it’s all about the here and now and the focus is on what talent they have got.
“For me, I was on the receiving end of it at the back end of last season. We had nothing to play for, Rob knew I was retiring so he started to play the younger boys and get them valuable experience for the season ahead.
“At the time I absolutely hated it. I completely disagreed with everything he was doing but there was method in the madness because you have seen the way Josh Hodge, prior to his horrendous injury, and Tommy Wyatt have played.
“These boys were getting game time last season towards the end which gave them a little bit of experience and understanding of what it is to play at this level. I was on the receiving end and hated it but it has worked for them so far this season.
“I still think they have got to learn (as a team): they have not won on the road for over 13 months and for the past couple of seasons they have been missing out on playoffs. You have got to pick up points on the road, it’s as simple as that and they have not been able to do that. Hopefully, that will be able to change really quickly.”
Exeter went into derby weekend with three wins from five outings and a fourth home win of the fledgling campaign would be useful for Baxter after last weekend’s setback at Northampton. “He has got a good group of coaches around him that will guide him in the right direction,” reckoned Hogg.
“He is a very, very, very clever man is Rob. There will be method in the madness throughout the season about what is going on. When he believes in something he sticks to it and the boys buy into it as well. He is a great coach, a great bloke, and the boys will jump around him with no problem.”
Sunday should be an easier gig for Hogg than November 5 when he went back to Sandy Park to work there on live TV for the first time since finishing up as a player. “It was a strange one,” he said, reflecting on that visit to Devon for the win over Bristol.
“The last time I was at Sandy Park I was a player so it felt a bit weird to go back and not be involved. It’s something I have taken a little bit of time to try and adapt to but away from the real world, I was able to enjoy that moment of being back at Sandy Park. I got a warm reception from the majority of Chiefs fans. It was great to be back and I’m looking forward to going back again.”
- Watch Exeter Chiefs vs Gloucester exclusively live on TNT Sports 1 and discovery+ from 2:30pm on Sunday, November 19. Stream the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Derby Weekend live on discovery+ or watch on TNT Sports channels on BT, Sky and Virgin Media. This isn’t Just Rugby, This is Personal. For more info visit: tntsports.co.uk/rugby
Comments on RugbyPass
Who hurt this man.. LoL 😭
197 Go to commentsIt unfortunate for the Jaguares that they became formidable just as super rugby as we knew came to an end. However, the idea of bringing them back is nonsensical. While I enjoyed the Jaguares and the South African flavour of the comp, a selling point of this incarnation of super rugby is that all games are on a decent time for an Aussie audience.
2 Go to commentslol that’s your opinion Ben, All Blacks benefited from a forward pass try, SA played 77 min without a recognised hooker, missed a no try conversion and a penalty could have would have but didn’t
197 Go to commentsBrett, from my distant perspective, I hope you get to keep the Rebels. Any ideas of teams from Japan or Argentina are just crazy. Won’t happen. If you look at logistics, it is much easier to get to LA from Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney than to Buenos Aires. All with direct non-stop daily flights. You may even get some “gringos” to watch the games, with some younger players compared to Giteau and Nonu who still “play” in the area. I think it is virtually impossible to get a competitive Argie team for SR. All Pumas are in Europe, almost all second tier players are also in Europe. Fringe players are in South American pro rugby tournament (and many still in the MLR!) but these players who might be most interested in joining a new Jaguares do not have the skills to compete. As I have been saying since the Jaguares joined, they should have had TWO teams to make logistics for visiting teams better and Argie player development improved as well. Jaguares/Pumas was not ideal. But this is where Pichot and his cronies did not think long enough. Further the country with he new president “No hay Plata” Milei is in a very difficult situation. Galperin, the richest man in Argentina owns the Miami franchise of MLR. I don’t think you can get him to invest in Argentina. Actually, he played rugby himself. He was a fly half. He is worth around $6 billion!
2 Go to commentsWell done Baby Boks we will take the Draw. No 9 senseless long passes in those conditions. let’s move on and hope for some good weather
4 Go to commentsHow did it end a draw. South Africa didn’t score any points as far as I can see
4 Go to commentsNo doubt this will be a fantastic occasion and I plan to be there, but I think the bean counters have won out over the rugby brains. In my opinion, it is foolhardy to give the Black Ferns the experience of playing in front of 60,000+ at Twickenham a year before they might be playing there in a World Cup Final. Better to play France at Twickenham and Black Ferns at Kingsholm. The difference in takings would be miniscule.
1 Go to commentsDom kant
197 Go to commentsBen is a little incel desperately trying to stir the pot and stay relevant. We used to get mad at his articles. Now we just feel sorry for him
197 Go to commentsPerhaps we may need to put an asterisk on NZ’s ‘87 WC win since the Boks weren’t there. You know, just as a reminder. Poor Ben Smith. Go cry somewhere else.
197 Go to commentsNz should have won. I didn't watch the game, but the ref was at fault and the bounce of the ball and the Bokke used the Bomb squad and the Bokke slow the game down and the Bokke scrum. They should remove the scrum. The Bokke are to strong. Not fair. Nz should have won
3 Go to commentsThanks for a much more balanced piece Ned and not that BS that Bin Smuth just posted a short while ago. read this article and then Bin Smuth’s and tell me there isn’t a huge difference🙄
3 Go to commentsWere the Baby Boks part of this game or did the Baby Blacks play themselves?🤔 That man Bin Smuth once again does a little write-up on the game and it is like 95% about the Baby Blacks🤣 Glad he ends off with the Baby Blacks were actually in cruise control for most of the game and weren’t actually playing for the win WTF🤣🤣 Maybe he was expecting the Baby Blacks to run rampant….
4 Go to commentsOne does not expect anything more from Ben Smith who epitomises the worst of New Zealand media arrogance and an inability to balance what he has to say about any team that beats the All Blacks. His reference to context is pathetically thin. He does not comment that Frizell deserved a red card given his blatant manipulation of his body to ensure that he could drop his body weight onto Mbonambi’s lower leg. No mention of the ball lost forward before the All Black’s try (lost in-field of the 5 metre line and gathered beyond). The All Black commitment and effort was superb and there was little in it. Given the Springbok passage to the final and the loss of their hooker in the first three minutes, their resolve and capacity to win their fourth final out of eight attempts (not three out of ten) deserves the praise that has been forthcoming from media around the world, worth reading and listening to. Ben should join his “pundit” friends on TV - he would fit in well. This sort of article reduces any credibility Rugby Pass has ever had. Why persist with this sort of nonsense? The man does his country and a rugby blog a disservice.
197 Go to commentsEtzebeth went on to say: “I would never dream of saying that systems stay in place following a change in captain. To say that would be deeply, deeply, disrespectful of Siya. A while back an Irish person told me they would be fine without Sexton, so I’m just responding to that.”
3 Go to commentsClose games are what we want to see…. What a match it was…. I am sure that everyone was drained by the end of it. The reality of it all there has to be a winner and a loser. The fact that we still talking about it is almost 6 months to the day Rugby is the winner.. Asante sana… Here is to 2027 and what it will bring out.
197 Go to commentsIt’s going to be a good game. COYQ
1 Go to comments“Shock”, the guy was casually saying he was just slightly surprised. Nowadays if you say anything it gets taken completely out of context. Calm down everyone.
156 Go to commentsAll I can say after reading this bitter, sour, sad piece is… Thank you very much! This will be read in the change room just before kick off on 31 August…
197 Go to commentsLook, we know contradicting opinions and wacky comments bring readers and clicks, so well done to RP for allowing always-wrong-Ben to say something here. However RP needs to put a disclaimer next to his comments for their own credibility. NZ was and is incapable of acknowledging their opp beating them. They refused so with Ire and with Arg in 2022 and also the Boks in 2023 x 2. Nothing Ben says here holds water, NZ attacked backwards, except when Kolisi and Kolbe was off And cyncialy took out Bongi, we played without lineouts for 75mins. Kolisi and Kurt-Lee almost scored twice. Thats 3 vs 2 for Boks, but the Boks opportunities was legal. Boks should have been 16-3 up by half time. Tacticaly the Boks attacked better defended better scrummed better (without a hooker) kicked better and crossed the whitewash more times. Boks beat Fr Eng Nz to win in 23, comeon give some credit at least. Even Federer Verstappen NY Mets, Mamoa, was able to see a great human sport achievement by the Boks and their DNA Boks #RWC27 !🏉
197 Go to comments