STUART Hogg is full of hope that 2017 will finally be the year when Scotland shine at the RBS 6 Nations, following an encouraging Autumn Test series.
The Glasgow full-back scored twice in the Scots’ six-try win over Georgia at Rugby Park on Saturday, which followed victory over Argentina and a narrow loss to Australia.
After a string of let-downs at the Six Nations, Hogg believes Vern Cotter’s team can look to register a minimum of three wins next year, for the first time since 2006.
Hogg said: “Is this our time? I believe so. We’ll just keep concentrating on ourselves, we’ll keep grounded, we’ll keep working hard. We will look at teams in depth and at where opportunities lie in attack and defence.
“Hopefully everyone can stay fit, and come Six Nations time we’ll all have some good form under our belt. That will increase competition.
“We believe we can win every single game. If you go in with any other mentality you’ll get beaten. We fully believe in each other and will back the coaching staff over the hill and back. We’re ready.”
Scotland end the year with more victories than losses for the first time since 2010 and Hogg believes the crop of youngsters – such as Zander Fagerson, Allan Dell, Magnus Bradbury and Ali Price – now striving to break into Vern Cotter’s team offers hope for the future.
“I think we’re in a very good place,” said Hogg. “We worked incredibly hard over these last couple of years to get where we are. We are excited and need to make the most of every opportunity we get in a Scotland jersey.
“Can we get achieve something like three wins in the Six Nations? I believe so. We’ve got good depth in out team. Everyone is competing for places which makes training a lot, lot better. We’re playing some fantastic rugby out there and when we get good set-piece ball and get on the front foot, we look dangerous.
“We will keep grounded, keep working hard and when the Six Nations comes along we will fire into it.
“Ireland are first up and will be a massive challenge. They are playing some fantastic rugby at the moment and I’m excited already.
“We know what we’re capable of. It was unfortunate that we didn’t get that win against Australia but we learned from it.
“We could have slowed the ball down in the final stages but a week later against Argentina we proved we had taken it on board. We used some zig-zag patterns and milked some penalties, which ultimately helped us win the game.
“We’re a fairly young team throughout but we’ve got a couple of old heads in there, too, who keep us on our toes.”
Hogg had the crowd in Kilmarnock leaping to their feet as he scored a sensational solo try against Georgia.
His opening touchdown saw him chase after his own kick before outsprinting the visiting defence, but he admitted the move could easily have ended in disaster.
“It was pure luck,” said the 24-year-old, who is just two caps short of his half-century. “I’m not going to lie about it. It was a little chip and chase and the ball bounced my way.
“If it hadn’t I think they could have ended up under our posts. You need that luck in international rugby so we will take it. I love scoring tries. I could have scored a couple for Glasgow the other week but knackered that up a wee bit.
“For the second try, Ali Price took a quick tap and passed the ball outside. He had Rory Hughes supporting on the outside and he then put me in down in the corner.
“All I had to do was be in the right place at the right time. The other boys did the business for me, so I thanked them both at the end.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here