Stuart Hogg, on the eve of his ninth Calcutta Cup game, was reminded it is now 10 years since his first thrilling foray into the wider sporting conscience.
A Friday night in Galashiels saw the then 19-year-old dance his way to a 60m try for the Scotland A side against England Saxons, the highlight of a thumping 35-0 win for the hosts.
A week later Hogg was propelled on to the bench for the senior Scotland side in Cardiff and made his Test debut as a replacement on the right wing. “It’s quite scary that was 10 years ago already,” he says. “It means that I’m getting old. I’ve absolutely loved it and it’s been a good journey so far but I’m far from finished.”
In many ways Hogg – and Scotland – are just getting started. An international career that has brought 88 Scotland caps so far and three Lions tours began with four straight defeats. That was the way it was with Scotland back then: sporadic victories which ignited hope, swiftly dashed.
At 29, and embarking on his 11th Six Nations campaign, Hogg has no hesitation in declaring this the “best squad I’ve ever been involved in”. The Exeter full-back lost his first five Calcutta Cup matches from 2013 to 2017, the latter a record 61-21 shellacking at Twickenham. But he has won two of his last three – he missed the helter-skelter 38-38 draw in 2019 with injury – and believes there is no longer any fear in the home ranks when the red rose ranks come calling.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t used to worry about playing England, especially in the early years,” he says. “For me growing up some of the names that used to play against us made playing them quite a scary task. But not now. I truly believe in the ability of myself and of the squad. I believe that we can go out there and win.”
On and off the field the mood music is overwhelmingly upbeat. Scotland have become an increasingly competitive Six Nations force because allied to the attacking razzle-dazzle, under the guidance of Steve Tandy – “the best defence coach in world rugby” according to Hogg – they now enjoy keeping the opposition out too.
Since the Welshman came in after the 2019 World Cup Scotland have conceded 28 tries in 18 Tests, an average of 1.56. “Because he cares so much, the boys love defending and love going out there to show what it means to represent our country, and that’s down to Steve as a person,” Hogg says.
Scotland start with seven-eighths of the pack that won at Twickenham for the first time in 38 years a year ago, and an unchanged backline from the one which finished the autumn series. It is a settled side with a host of players in their mid-to-late 20s who are close to, or already at, their peak.
Eight of the starting XV toured with the Lions last summer and all but one, Zander Fagerson, saw Test action. Such was the impact of Finn Russell’s performance in the third Test, it was easy to imagine the series outcome might have been different if the fly-half had been fit to take a full part.
“Finn is absolute quality,” Hogg says. “He cares deeply about this sport and about getting the best out of himself. When he’s firing and he’s got a forward pack going forward, he is one of the best 10s in world rugby. I’m sure England will have a strategy to try and keep him quiet, but I’m sure he’ll find ways in and around that to have a big impact on the game.”
Hogg sees shades of Russell in the man charged with lighting England’s fires amid what are likely to be wet and windy conditions at Murrayfield.
Hogg has seen enough of Marcus Smith already to believe he will “thrive” on the biggest stages, and was similarly effusive in his admiration for Exeter teammate Henry Slade –“someone else who makes the game of rugby look incredibly easy”.
But behind the pre-match diplomacy, there is no mistaking the overriding mood in the home ranks. Anything less than victory today will be a major disappointment. “We’re confident in what we’re going to do, we’re confident that the challenges England chuck at us we know we can deal with,” Hogg adds. “It’s just about going out there and executing it the best we possibly can.”
