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The 'hit like a ton of bricks' reason why Stuart Hogg is retiring
Stuart Hogg has explained the moment in 2021 when he first thought of retiring as a player. The 30-year-old Scotland full-back recently shocked the rugby world when revealing that he will quit playing following the upcoming World Cup in France. The three-tour British and Irish Lions pick said at the time of last month’s announcement that his body was letting him down and it was time to hang up his boots.
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Hogg has now given his first major interview since that news broke in late March and he explained on the latest RugbyPass Offload the thinking behind his decision to quit this year rather than battle on further into his 30s.
Asked about the retirement call that seemingly came out of nowhere, the soon-to-be 31-year-old Hogg explained: “I had been thinking of it for a while. You look at the disappointment of the 2017 Lions tour, picking up all the injuries and then starting to get all the hate [he spoke earlier in the interview about online abuse].
“It took me a while to get over the disappointment of that tour, so for the for the couple of years ahead of the 2021 Lions tour I said, ‘Right, this is my time. I’m going to go all out to make sure I get on this tour’.
“I was chuffed to bits, over the moon to be in a position to go on a third tour. I didn’t see myself as a proper Lion until I get a Test match and if I didn’t get a Test match, to this day I still wouldn’t believe I am a proper Lion.
“So I targeted that from an individual point of view, that I am going to do everything I possibly can to get there. And I loved it, I absolutely loved it, but the only thing looking back is we played a Lions tour in South Africa with nobody in the stands.
“Since then, I have really, really struggled with my body. I had done everything to get there. I have got patellar tendinitis in both knees, worse in the right than in the left.
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“I remember speaking to older boys who said you get to a certain point in your career – and it just hits you. Bang. It just hits you. I was like, ‘It will never happen to me. Never happen to me’. In 2021 after the Six Nations, that time came. It just hit me like a ton of bricks.
“I was like, ‘Holy shit, what has happened here?’ It was just game on game I was trying to do everything I possibly could to build up to play. Went on the Lions tour, had an extended time off, didn’t do any pre-season training or anything like that, I wanted to mentally switch off and recharge. Came back in, did a couple of weeks of training, straight back into playing – and I played a lot of rugby that season – and then the body just started to break down.
“I worked closely with Steve Haw, our physio at the club, and he has been absolutely outstanding. I was spending hours on the physio bed every day to get right and I have just got to the point where having a young family, it breaks my heart when my son comes up to me and says, ‘Dad, do you want to go and play football in the garden after training?’
“But I’m absolutely knackered, I’m in too much pain that I can’t go outside. I’m like, ‘Enough is enough, family is my priority and rugby has started to become a job’.
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“I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I used to because of the way my body was feeling. I got to the point where I spoke to my parents about it and then losing the Scotland captaincy, I felt the time had come for a change.
“Whether the change would be not being Scotland captain, because it is a high-pressure environment, you take a lot on yourself which I loved doing, and I thought the change might be not being the Scotland captain. But in that autumn Tests, I felt like I was doing the exact same job as I was doing when I was captain. I was like the change really isn’t here.
“I sat down at length with Gill, with my parents, with Rob (Baxter) at the club, with Gregor (Townsend) and just said I believe now is my time to pull away. Ever since making a decision, I have felt like a completely different person. I feel at ease, I feel like there has been a monkey lifted off my back and I am now in a position where I am doing everything I can to make sure I am fit and well to play.
“I am going to have the most enjoyable time I have ever had on a rugby field because I know that it could end in a few weeks’ time or it could end after the World Cup, so I am going to do everything I can to get to the World Cup.
“I’m genuinely excited about life after rugby and moving back to Scotland and being around my family. I have been away for 14 years now from home so time to get the English accents knocked out of the kids, I reckon,” he chuckled.
Comments on RugbyPass
This sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
12 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
77 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
12 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
12 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
12 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
12 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
12 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
44 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
2 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to comments