An international debut came a year later. Hogg’s first try came eight minutes into his first start against France in the Six Nations. That, in itself, was an impressive achievement given that between November 2009 and February 2011, Scotland hadn’t scored a single try at test level.
Even football fans, more accustomed to watching Partick Thistle in a 3pm kick off in Maryhill, could see that this was a generational talent.
Hogg soon became the face of Scottish rugby, pivotal in Glasgow Warriors’ Pro 12 success in 2015 and the youngest player to reach 100 appearances for the club at 24 years of age in 2017. by then he was widely recognised as one of the best in world rugby which, despite a strong rugby tradition, is not something that often happens in Scotland. By the time he retired, his status as one of the international greats was secured as Scotland’s all-time record try scorer.
He also starred for the British and Irish Lions and would undoubtedly have made a greater impact at that level had it not been for unlucky injuries at unfortunate times.
Such was his legend Hogg was even mentioned in “Pottermore”, the digital Harry Potter world which followed the book series, with JK Rowling suggesting that he was a wizard masquerading as a ‘muggle’ – or ‘non magic folk’ for those who don’t have any interest in Harry Potter.
However, throughout his career, there was always an undercurrent, an underlying feeling that something wasn’t quite right, that there was more to his story.
Those within journalism knew he could be difficult to deal with, rumours swirled around his personal life, and, while some journalists enjoyed good experiences with him, my own, admittedly limited interactions, left an uneasy feeling. Others felt the same.
The occasional, strained encounter could never imagined what was taking place behind closed doors. The recent court case has illuminated some of that darkness.
Earlier this week, Hogg pleaded guilty to a charge of domestic abuse against his wife Gillian, the mother of his four children.
Hogg admitted to shouting and swearing in an abusive manner, to repeatedly tracking her movements and sending alarming and distressing messages to her. On one occasion, he sent more than 200 messages in the space of a couple of hours.
The abuse took place over the course of five years, during which time Hogg was named captain of Scotland, stripped of the captaincy – allegedly over disciplinary issues in camp – and then abruptly retired, announcing his departure from the game shortly before the World Cup in 2023.
At the time, Hogg blamed it on his “body not being able to do the things I wanted and needed it to do”.
He also stated that he wanted to spend more time with his family adding: “When my son, who is seven, turns up to me, and I come home from training, and he’s like: ‘Dad, do you want to go outside and play football?’ And I’m like: ‘mate, I can’t. I genuinely can’t, like I’m absolutely beat’.
“His little face, and he’s out in the rain… I sit there and I watch him, and he’s on his own, and I’m like: ‘this is absolutely breaking me’. I want to be there for my kids.”
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The timing of the news came as a shock to the broader public but again, among those close to the sport, there was a gut feeling that there was more to the decision.
Within a couple of months of the announcement of his retirement, it emerged he had split from wife Gillian – who was pregnant with their fourth child – and in a relationship with TV presenter Leonna Mayor.
Off-field issues then began to bubble to the surface. He saw in the New Year at his brother’s house, to which the police were called. That incident came to nothing, but by the end of 2024 his reputation was in tatters.
He was arrested in February and news soon started to emerge about his home life and what his wife had been experiencing.
Shouting, swearing and stalking were all part of the five-year terror. Gillian admitted that she was scared every time he went out drinking while she stayed at home with the children. The abuse would escalate when alcohol was consumed.
He accused her of “not being fun” when she couldn’t go drinking and would stay in with the children. He tracked her on the ‘find my phone’ app, which led to her having a panic attack.
After the first arrest he checked himself into rehab and appeared to use his problems as an excuse but insisted he had taken accountability and was going in the right direction.
Hogg was later arrested again for breaching his bail conditions and spent a night in the cells.
The abuse largely took place in Hawick, where he was born and raised, and in Exeter where he continued to grow his reputation as a worldwide rugby star while playing for Exeter Chiefs.
Those who questioned the reasons behind his shock departure from the sport felt slightly vindicated when he “he came out of retirement” to sign a two-year deal with recent French and European Challenge Cup champions Montpellier in July this year.
This was an incredible achievement for someone who, just a year earlier, couldn’t put his body through the pain, who could not even play with his son in the garden.
In recent months Hogg’s new partner has been attempting to defend him on social media and just days before he changed his plea to guilty, told the world that the truth would come out in court, that the stories were “newspaper gossip”.
Even after the guilty plea, the media were accused of “clickbait” for reporting on the fact Hogg had admitted to the crime.
But it’s not just here in Scotland that this story has been widely reported. In further testament to his standing in the game the story has even been widely reported in Chile, one of the up-and-coming rugby nations. This is news, not clickbait.
Hogg faces sentencing next month for domestic abuse amid growing calls for him to be stripped of the MBE awarded for services to rugby in the 2024 New Year Honours list.
Meanwhile Scottish rugby fans were delighted to see gentle giant, Duhan van der Merwe, smash Hogg’s try-scoring record. With Darcy Graham also battling for that accolade, Hogg’s name is being mentioned less and less when it comes to the actual sport and on-field achievements.
An incredible rugby career, that should have been remembered and glorified for years to come, is already being relegated to a footnote in Scottish rugby history.
A prodigy who should have set the standard for all future Scotland rugby players will be remembered as little more than a domestic abuser.
