Two years ago, when idly considering who was the greatest Scotland player of all time, I decided on Stuart Hogg.
There was recency bias at work, obviously. Any other candidate could only play in their time. The demands of the international and elite level game in the 21st century are clearly greater than for the other candidates from the pre-professional era.
You could make a case for Gary Armstrong, for David Leslie, or Andy Irvine or for Ian Smith. But really, they had none of the pressures exerted on Hogg.
No surprise
The Final Chapter… pic.twitter.com/gUhq7jkVrv
— Stuart W Hogg (@StuartWHOGG_) March 27, 2023
I’m not remotely surprised that the full-back is calling time on his career so early, at just 30, at the end of the World Cup later this year. It was obvious the extreme pressures he was under when captain of Scotland from 2020 through to the end of last year.
The fact some, like Wales’ Alun Wyn Jones or Jonny Sexton of Ireland, can plough on close to their 40s is not really the point. Neither wears their heart on their sleeve as much as Hogg does.
And I’d say Hogg has been at the coalface more than just about anyone. Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend estimated – accurately – that no player on the 2021 Lions played more minutes and longer over the period before and after that tour than Hogg.
He did so carrying injuries, as well. This season just passed, he was nursing a foot problem throughout the season. It was only when he went over an ankle against Ireland that he finally gave way.
That gruelling schedule has perhaps foreshortened his career. He felt he had a clear obligation to play when he was even halfway available. His desire to make a difference often manifested itself in trying to do too much when he was on the field.
An amazing natural talent
Stuart Hogg's 25 tries in a Scotland shirt 🏴#AsOne pic.twitter.com/CSZkdQsFY4
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) November 20, 2021
But even though the two years since I wrote that piece haven’t really panned out what I’d envisaged or hoped for, I still think he’s our best ever.
No player in my 50 years watching and reporting got me out of my seat more than Hogg. More than that, his emergence in the early 2010s really signalled for me the end of an unhappy era in which Scotland were a pretty hard watch most of the time.
He was a home grown hero of amazing natural talent who lifted the spirits every time he got the ball. And not coincidentally, Scotland got so much better to watch during his time, to the point where the current team score tries for fun.
Perhaps Scotland still didn’t win enough in his time. But all you can really demand of a player is that he gives everything he has whenever he takes the field.
Stuart Hogg has certainly done that.
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