The captaincy of Scotland and a greater awareness of his own needs as a player will raise record breaker Stuart Hogg to new levels, believes Gregor Townsend.
Hogg’s 25th try for his country in the 29-20 win over Japan finally took him beyond the 88-year-old record mark of Ian Smith, equalled by Tony Stanger 23 years ago.
Fittingly, the captain basically made the score himself. A searing break from his own half started it and he was there to finish off from Finn Russell’s short pass into a gap.
But at a time of great individual achievement, Townsend is most impressed with what Hogg does for others.
‘He’s put in a lot of investment’
"I just absolutely love playing for Scotland"
Stuart Hogg spoke to us following the win over Japan and after becoming Scotland's all-time leading try scorer. pic.twitter.com/eeSr9l8ZpW
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) November 20, 2021
“I think the biggest development Stuart has had in his game is how much he plays for others,” said Townsend. “As a leader we see how much he brings other people into roles of responsibility and shares that leadership.
“But I feel the biggest change in the last two years is he puts something on the ball when he gets it so others can do better.
“He creates a lot, and I have to say that he’s now getting close to 30 years old and he’s working so hard on his recovery. He’s put a lot of investment into that in terms of time, and he’ll get the benefits.
“He looks sharp, he’s lost a bit of weight. He’s got through these three weeks of Test matches in a similar if not better condition than when he started. That’s a difficult thing on the back of a long season and a Lions tour.”
‘We were tested’
Hogg’s captaincy was never a given – captains at 15 in the modern game are rare – and there were some difficulties to start with, Townsend agreed.
“We were obviously tested,” said the coach, not directly referring to Finn Russell’s departure from camp in 2019. “The first two games were defeats.
“He was really looking forward to getting the opportunity to captain the team. He’s a proud Scot that loves his Scottish rugby history, so he knew what an honour this would be.
Stuart Hogg makes history with his 25th try, becoming Scotland's all-time try-scorer 🙌
Watch #SCOvJPN live on @primevideosport in the UK. pic.twitter.com/m4OcoojhLV
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) November 20, 2021
“The first time when you do anything it’s not going to feel natural. There’s going to be times when it doesn’t feel that it’s going well. But he got through that period; the team got through that period.
“He’s allowed others to lead. Finn leads the attack, Hoggy and Ali Price are helping him. For defence, you’ve got Jamie Ritchie, you’ve got Stuart McInally when he comes on.
“You’ve got Grant Gilchrist with a big say in how we play from a lineout perspective. Zander (Fagerson) is now one of our leaders, driving the scrum. Chris Harris and Sam Johnson in defence.
“He enables them to lead. And he can enjoy his rugby as well as enjoying the responsibility and honour of captaining your country.”
‘He’ve loving his rugby just now’
And as player he remains as dangerous as ever.
“You saw the joy on his face when he scored,” added Townsend. “He’s loving his rugby just now.
“He’s got the ability to pass accurately off either hand, to put someone away, to step back or outside.
“And just his decision-making has improved so much over the last few years – of what to do, whether to dummy, whether to pass, whether to put a little kick in. So yeah, he’s got an all-round game that makes him a real threat, a real handful for the opposition.”
Hogg himself had downplayed the record coming into the game, but his reaction at the try showed how much it meant to him.
“I loved it,” he said. “And I loved to then be told by Ali Price and Hamish Watson to put the ball down before I celebrated!
“But the main thing is we got the win. We’ll take that and move on.
‘We’re still not satisfied’
“We were not far from where we need to be,” he surmised. “I think the first period of defensive play was absolutely outstanding. It was 16 or 17 phases we defended and we were in control of it.
“Our discipline at times wasn’t great but we won a Test match. We managed to win three of four games in the Autumn.
“The exciting thing for me is we’re still not satisfied with everything that happened.”