Hoggy Retires

[Slick]

Deserves its own thread.

I think it’s difficult for non Scots to appreciate the impact he had when we were at a very low ebb. Took on the captaincy when no one else wanted it and wore the armband with such pride.

For me the best bit was that we could travel the world and speak to rugby folk knowing we had a world class player for once and could hold our heads high.

100 caps, Scotlands leading try scorer, proper Scottish rugby legend. I’m quite sad

[Uncle fester]

Can imagine. Why now though?

[And 1 guest]

One of the greats of Scottish rugby. Pity he can't have the murrayfield send off he deserves

[Slick]

Can imagine. Why now though?

Seems the next training camp starts tomorrow and he just can’t get his body working

[Hal Jordan]

Can imagine. Why now though?

Seems the next training camp starts tomorrow and he just can’t get his body working

Carrying the weight of Scottish expectations for so long must have played merry hell with his back and shoulders.

[Slick]

Can imagine. Why now though?

Seems the next training camp starts tomorrow and he just can’t get his body working

Carrying the weight of Scottish expectations for so long must have played merry hell with his back and shoulders.

[tc27]

He must be really broken to quit just ahead of a RWC.

[Ymx]

He must be really broken to quit just ahead of a RWC.

Yeah, is it the case it’s as of now? And not after a last RWC?

Doesn’t make sense, unless he’s just received a season ending injury.

[Simian]

He must be really broken to quit just ahead of a RWC.

Yeah, is it the case it’s as of now? And not after a last RWC?

Doesn’t make sense, unless he’s just received a season ending injury.

He's not played much since the injury he picked up in the 6N.

It's a real shame, but seems like his body has just basically given up.

Wonder if it's too late for him to pick up a pundit gig for the RWC tho?

[clydecloggie]

He must be really broken to quit just ahead of a RWC.

Yeah, is it the case it’s as of now? And not after a last RWC?

Doesn’t make sense, unless he’s just received a season ending injury.

He's not played much since the injury he picked up in the 6N.

It's a real shame, but seems like his body has just basically given up.

Wonder if it's too late for him to pick up a pundit gig for the RWC tho?

He was a very explosive, pacey runner. Those are the guys that go first. Doesn't seem to be one injury, just too many signals from his body saying enough is enough.

Among many happy memories, I'll never forget him skimming through the NZ defence only to get taken out by Beauden Barrett in the final second of the game. Never heard Murrayfield produce a hurricane of sound like that before, nor the eerie quiet in between Barrett's tackle and the referee whistling to signal the end of the match.

Happy retirement Hoggy!

[Tichtheid]

Yeah, is it the case it’s as of now? And not after a last RWC?

Doesn’t make sense, unless he’s just received a season ending injury.

He's not played much since the injury he picked up in the 6N.

It's a real shame, but seems like his body has just basically given up.

Wonder if it's too late for him to pick up a pundit gig for the RWC tho?

He was a very explosive, pacey runner. Those are the guys that go first. Doesn't seem to be one injury, just too many signals from his body saying enough is enough.

Among many happy memories, I'll never forget him skimming through the NZ defence only to get taken out by Beauden Barrett in the final second of the game. Never heard Murrayfield produce a hurricane of sound like that before, nor the eerie quiet in between Barrett's tackle and the referee whistling to signal the end of the match.

Happy retirement Hoggy!

Aye, I heard him say a month or so ago that he thought the weight training he did to get up to modern day standards played havoc with joints and ligaments. He said he was in constant pain and taking days to get over a match.
At that time he was hoping to have one last hurrah but it wasn't to be.

He was a beacon of light after a long dark period in Scottish rugby, yet another fantastic player from that Hawick Green Machine which has churned out so many Scottish internationals.

I hope Stuart is as successful off the pitch as he was on it.

[dpedin]

First saw Hoggy on a cold frosty night in Gala when he played for Scotland A v England A in 2012. He scored a try from his own 22 running back a kick and beat about half of the English team with his jinking running. We hammered the English that night. My Borders mates tell me that he became a bit over confident and a bit cocky but the Borders folk made sure they took him down a rung or two every time he returned home. However that confidence was what the Scotland team needed when he got into the big team and he almost single handedly pulled us up to proper international standards. He deserves all the plaudits he gets.

[assfly]

What sad news. He was such an iconic player for Scotland, it's hard to imagine anyone else in the 15 jersey. All the best to him .

[Jim Lahey]

He's not played much since the injury he picked up in the 6N.

It's a real shame, but seems like his body has just basically given up.

Wonder if it's too late for him to pick up a pundit gig for the RWC tho?

He was a very explosive, pacey runner. Those are the guys that go first. Doesn't seem to be one injury, just too many signals from his body saying enough is enough.

Among many happy memories, I'll never forget him skimming through the NZ defence only to get taken out by Beauden Barrett in the final second of the game. Never heard Murrayfield produce a hurricane of sound like that before, nor the eerie quiet in between Barrett's tackle and the referee whistling to signal the end of the match.

Happy retirement Hoggy!

Aye, I heard him say a month or so ago that he thought the weight training he did to get up to modern day standards played havoc with joints and ligaments. He said he was in constant pain and taking days to get over a match.
At that time he was hoping to have one last hurrah but it wasn't to be.

He was a beacon of light after a long dark period in Scottish rugby, yet another fantastic player from that Hawick Green Machine which has churned out so many Scottish internationals.

I hope Stuart is as successful off the pitch as he was on it.

He looked seriously jacked the last couple of seasons, as if he had overdid it himself in the weight room. Might have been how he tried to adapt to losing the natural gas, or potentially a contributing factor.

Top player. The type every side needs. When the chips are down, get the ball in his hands and cross your bollocks that he's able to do something magical.

[Yeeb]

He's not played much since the injury he picked up in the 6N.

It's a real shame, but seems like his body has just basically given up.

Wonder if it's too late for him to pick up a pundit gig for the RWC tho?

He was a very explosive, pacey runner. Those are the guys that go first. Doesn't seem to be one injury, just too many signals from his body saying enough is enough.

Among many happy memories, I'll never forget him skimming through the NZ defence only to get taken out by Beauden Barrett in the final second of the game. Never heard Murrayfield produce a hurricane of sound like that before, nor the eerie quiet in between Barrett's tackle and the referee whistling to signal the end of the match.

Happy retirement Hoggy!

Aye, I heard him say a month or so ago that he thought the weight training he did to get up to modern day standards played havoc with joints and ligaments. He said he was in constant pain and taking days to get over a match.
At that time he was hoping to have one last hurrah but it wasn't to be.

He was a beacon of light after a long dark period in Scottish rugby, yet another fantastic player from that Hawick Green Machine which has churned out so many Scottish internationals.

I hope Stuart is as successful off the pitch as he was on it.

I heard that Clyde Rathbone said the same thing , creatine as well to gain the weight didn’t do the joints any favours .
Tbf when I retired it was also taking me days to get over a game too but I was a tad slower and a decade older.

[Torquemada 1420]

Not a player I liked as a person but cruel luck for him that injuries have finished him so close to a RWC. His form of the last season seemed to suggest something was amiss. Hope his body doesn't punish him in retirement for all the punishment he had to give it whilst playing.

[Line6 HXFX]

He always seemed to play well and rack up the points.l...against Italy.
Andy Nicol seemed to love him.


Sorry Scotland were so disappointing for so long, I have hoggies petulant disappointed face seared into my brain, as the face of it all.

Shame he is leaving now when Scotland are very good.

[Tichtheid]

He always seemed to play well and rack up the points.l...against Italy.

This got me thinking, it's nonsense of course but it made me wonder about the scoring records of International fullbacks - Christian Cullen is way out ahead from the ones I looked up, he's on 46, Ben Smith in that incredible team scored 39.

Hoggy is on 27, way ahead of Mike Brown, Leigh Halfpenny, Liam Williams, Willie le Roux and Rob Kearney. Those were the only ones I checked as I couldn't remember players from other teams who had held the jersey as long as those players (I'm not counting wingers like Shane Williams and Vincent Clerc, just fullback in the professional era running against professional defences)
Aussies are difficult to count as they play all over the shop, different week different position, but the likes of Drew Mitchell must have scored a few from fullback.

[Torquemada 1420]

He always seemed to play well and rack up the points.l...against Italy.

This got me thinking, it's nonsense of course but it made me wonder about the scoring records of International fullbacks - Christian Cullen is way out ahead from the ones I looked up, he's on 46, Ben Smith in that incredible team scored 39.

Hoggy is on 27, way ahead of Mike Brown, Leigh Halfpenny, Liam Williams, Willie le Roux and Rob Kearney. Those were the only ones I checked as I couldn't remember players from other teams who had held the jersey as long as those players (I'm not counting wingers like Shane Williams and Vincent Clerc, just fullback in the professional era running against professional defences)
Aussies are difficult to count as they play all over the shop, different week different position, but the likes of Drew Mitchell must have scored a few from fullback.

Yeah. Would be very hard to filter tries only scored from FB. As you point out, guys like Campese and Heymans played both wing and FB.

It doesn't matter who Hogg scored them against. The fact he got so many in relatively unsuccessful Sco sides says he was a premium finisher at his peak.

Also doesn't tell us about strike rates which is why guys like Sivivatu, Clerc and Wilson were special.
{EDIT} Did a quick fiddle with strike rates
- Ohata for Japan is going at more than 1 a game
- Savea, Howlett and Wilson all at an incredible 0.8 i.e. 4 tries every 5 games
- Ickle at 2 in 3 which is pretty special for a small guy who played so many Tests. Ditto Campo.

[Tichtheid]

He always seemed to play well and rack up the points.l...against Italy.

This got me thinking, it's nonsense of course but it made me wonder about the scoring records of International fullbacks - Christian Cullen is way out ahead from the ones I looked up, he's on 46, Ben Smith in that incredible team scored 39.

Hoggy is on 27, way ahead of Mike Brown, Leigh Halfpenny, Liam Williams, Willie le Roux and Rob Kearney. Those were the only ones I checked as I couldn't remember players from other teams who had held the jersey as long as those players (I'm not counting wingers like Shane Williams and Vincent Clerc, just fullback in the professional era running against professional defences)
Aussies are difficult to count as they play all over the shop, different week different position, but the likes of Drew Mitchell must have scored a few from fullback.

Yeah. Would be very hard to filter tries only scored from FB. As you point out, guys like Campese and Heymans played both wing and FB.

It doesn't matter who Hogg scored them against. The fact he got so many in relatively unsuccessful Sco sides says he was a premium finisher at his peak.

Also doesn't tell us about strike rates which is why guys like Sivivatu, Clerc and Wilson were special.
{EDIT} Did a quick fiddle with strike rates
- Ohata for Japan is going at more than 1 a game
- Savea, Howlett and Wilson all at an incredible 0.8 i.e. 4 tries every 5 games
- Ickle at 2 in 3 which is pretty special for a small guy who played so many Tests. Ditto Campo.

A sometimes contributor to here collated Hogg's tries, my memory of his scores is that he often scored v Ireland, France and Wales, as well as Italy - I haven't counted them up

https://ontopofthemoon.com/2023/03/27/s ... cotland-2/

[Biffer]

3 v Argentina
4 v France
1 v England
5 v Italy
2 v South Africa
1 v Japan
1 v USA
1 v Tonga
1 v Samoa
2 v Georgia
3 v Wales
3 v Ireland

[Sandstorm]

3 v Argentina
4 v France
1 v England
5 v Italy
2 v South Africa
1 v Japan
1 v USA
1 v Tonga
1 v Samoa
2 v Georgia
3 v Wales
3 v Ireland

None against the Blackness or Moaners. Surprising, unless he scored some for the Lions and they excluded?

[Biffer]

3 v Argentina
4 v France
1 v England
5 v Italy
2 v South Africa
1 v Japan
1 v USA
1 v Tonga
1 v Samoa
2 v Georgia
3 v Wales
3 v Ireland

None against the Blackness or Moaners. Surprising, unless he scored some for the Lions and they excluded?

Played the ABs four times, didn’t score. Three of those games were losses by eight points or less, quite tight, and of course there’s that last minute break where we all believe one day he’s going to get round Barrett.

More surprising is not scoring vs Australia. Played them eight times while he’s been playing for Scotland and beat them in four of those games. He was injured for the game where we gave them an absolute shoeing at Murrayfield.

[erictheodorecartman]

In the last game against New Zealand he nearly scored Scotland's first try but was fouled in the in goal area and Scotland were awarded a penalty try.

Its interesting that Hogg didn't play in the 53-24 game v Australia nor the 38 all game v England, in other words Scotland still managed 14 tries over two games without Hogg on the pitch (Maitland was at FB for both, replaced by Adam Hastings v England).

[Biffer]

In the last game against New Zealand he nearly scored Scotland's first try but was fouled in the in goal area and Scotland were awarded a penalty try.

Its interesting that Hogg didn't play in the 53-24 game v Australia nor the 38 all game v England, in other words Scotland still managed 14 tries over two games without Hogg on the pitch (Maitland was at FB for both, replaced by Adam Hastings v England).

Right enough, I’d forgotten about that. Dragged down a yard short in the second half as well.

[Torquemada 1420]

This got me thinking, it's nonsense of course but it made me wonder about the scoring records of International fullbacks - Christian Cullen is way out ahead from the ones I looked up, he's on 46, Ben Smith in that incredible team scored 39.

Hoggy is on 27, way ahead of Mike Brown, Leigh Halfpenny, Liam Williams, Willie le Roux and Rob Kearney. Those were the only ones I checked as I couldn't remember players from other teams who had held the jersey as long as those players (I'm not counting wingers like Shane Williams and Vincent Clerc, just fullback in the professional era running against professional defences)
Aussies are difficult to count as they play all over the shop, different week different position, but the likes of Drew Mitchell must have scored a few from fullback.

Yeah. Would be very hard to filter tries only scored from FB. As you point out, guys like Campese and Heymans played both wing and FB.

It doesn't matter who Hogg scored them against. The fact he got so many in relatively unsuccessful Sco sides says he was a premium finisher at his peak.

Also doesn't tell us about strike rates which is why guys like Sivivatu, Clerc and Wilson were special.
{EDIT} Did a quick fiddle with strike rates
- Ohata for Japan is going at more than 1 a game
- Savea, Howlett and Wilson all at an incredible 0.8 i.e. 4 tries every 5 games
- Ickle at 2 in 3 which is pretty special for a small guy who played so many Tests. Ditto Campo.

A sometimes contributor to here collated Hogg's tries, my memory of his scores is that he often scored v Ireland, France and Wales, as well as Italy - I haven't counted them up

https://ontopofthemoon.com/2023/03/27/s ... cotland-2/

FM, that's one dedicated fan. Almost jrp levels of obsession.

[weegie01]

A sometimes contributor to here collated Hogg's tries, my memory of his scores is that he often scored v Ireland, France and Wales, as well as Italy - I haven't counted them up

https://ontopofthemoon.com/2023/03/27/s ... cotland-2/

FM, that's one dedicated fan. Almost jrp levels of obsession.

He is a statistician often used by media.

[Thor Sedan]

Undoubtedly a gifted player and will be a loss.

But - is he the Scottish Carlos Spencer? Brilliant and capable of doing things on the pitch that defy belief - but equally frustrating with his complete inability to remove the stupid (and at times) costly errors.

Whether it be intercepted passes, dropping balls over the line or choosing the glory rather than the team moments.

I know a couple of my Scottish mates will have mixed feelings about his departure - Scotland definitely losing a world class player - but maybe not the most dependable one.

[Uncle fester]

Undoubtedly a gifted player and will be a loss.

But - is he the Scottish Carlos Spencer? Brilliant and capable of doing things on the pitch that defy belief - but equally frustrating with his complete inability to remove the stupid (and at times) costly errors.

Whether it be intercepted passes, dropping balls over the line or choosing the glory rather than the team moments.

I know a couple of my Scottish mates will have mixed feelings about his departure - Scotland definitely losing a world class player - but maybe not the most dependable one.

Might be confusing him with somebody else but was it 2 certain tries dropped over the line against Ireland?
One of them would have been a win for Scotland if he had dotted it down.

[Torquemada 1420]

A sometimes contributor to here collated Hogg's tries, my memory of his scores is that he often scored v Ireland, France and Wales, as well as Italy - I haven't counted them up

https://ontopofthemoon.com/2023/03/27/s ... cotland-2/

FM, that's one dedicated fan. Almost jrp levels of obsession.

He is a statistician often used by media.

jrp?


;¬)

[SaintK]

Hoggy's got a new job

However, that retirement was brought forward with his July 9 revelation that he now won’t be available for Scotland for the 2023 finals. The 31-year-old won’t be idle for long, though, as Tuesday’s rebirth of BT Sport as TNT Sports has coincided with the confirmation that Hogg will be one of the broadcaster’s new rugby pundits for the 2023/24 season.

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/stuart- ... otland/

[Biffer]

Not convinced he’ll work well as a pundit, but I hope he surprises me.

[JM2K6]

He always seemed to play well and rack up the points.l...against Italy.

This got me thinking, it's nonsense of course but it made me wonder about the scoring records of International fullbacks - Christian Cullen is way out ahead from the ones I looked up, he's on 46, Ben Smith in that incredible team scored 39.

Hoggy is on 27, way ahead of Mike Brown, Leigh Halfpenny, Liam Williams, Willie le Roux and Rob Kearney. Those were the only ones I checked as I couldn't remember players from other teams who had held the jersey as long as those players (I'm not counting wingers like Shane Williams and Vincent Clerc, just fullback in the professional era running against professional defences)
Aussies are difficult to count as they play all over the shop, different week different position, but the likes of Drew Mitchell must have scored a few from fullback.

Where did you get 27 from? Genuine question - stats like this are surprisingly a nightmare to validate. All.rugby has it as 24. Wikipedia as 20. ESPN as 22.

[JM2K6]

Not convinced he’ll work well as a pundit, but I hope he surprises me.

Liked what I heard during the season, I think he'll do OK.

[Tichtheid]

He always seemed to play well and rack up the points.l...against Italy.

This got me thinking, it's nonsense of course but it made me wonder about the scoring records of International fullbacks - Christian Cullen is way out ahead from the ones I looked up, he's on 46, Ben Smith in that incredible team scored 39.

Hoggy is on 27, way ahead of Mike Brown, Leigh Halfpenny, Liam Williams, Willie le Roux and Rob Kearney. Those were the only ones I checked as I couldn't remember players from other teams who had held the jersey as long as those players (I'm not counting wingers like Shane Williams and Vincent Clerc, just fullback in the professional era running against professional defences)
Aussies are difficult to count as they play all over the shop, different week different position, but the likes of Drew Mitchell must have scored a few from fullback.

Where did you get 27 from? Genuine question - stats like this are surprisingly a nightmare to validate. All.rugby has it as 24. Wikipedia as 20. ESPN as 22.

From the SRU site https://scottishrugby.org/teams/scotlan ... uart-hogg/

Also, if you tally up the numbers in Biffer's post it comes to 27, presumably Biffer counted from the videos on the site I linked to earlier.

[JM2K6]

This got me thinking, it's nonsense of course but it made me wonder about the scoring records of International fullbacks - Christian Cullen is way out ahead from the ones I looked up, he's on 46, Ben Smith in that incredible team scored 39.

Hoggy is on 27, way ahead of Mike Brown, Leigh Halfpenny, Liam Williams, Willie le Roux and Rob Kearney. Those were the only ones I checked as I couldn't remember players from other teams who had held the jersey as long as those players (I'm not counting wingers like Shane Williams and Vincent Clerc, just fullback in the professional era running against professional defences)
Aussies are difficult to count as they play all over the shop, different week different position, but the likes of Drew Mitchell must have scored a few from fullback.

Where did you get 27 from? Genuine question - stats like this are surprisingly a nightmare to validate. All.rugby has it as 24. Wikipedia as 20. ESPN as 22.

From the SRU site https://scottishrugby.org/teams/scotlan ... uart-hogg/

Also, if you tally up the numbers in Biffer's post it comes to 27, presumably Biffer counted from the videos on the site I linked to earlier.

Cheers. Infuriates me how hard it is to get consistent numbers here.

[erictheodorecartman]

Hoggy's page on ESPN states that the counts are up to 2021. You can also tell that with his number of caps on the page.

[Uncle fester]

Few stories doing the rounds...

[Slick]

Funnily enough being circulated almost entirely by Irish and Welsh.

[Uncle fester]

With the timing of his retirement, there was always going to be speculation.

I'm waiting for the Zebo declares for France rumour to catch on myself.