Fans, commentators and former players praised one of the greats of the Scottish game after Stuart Hogg announced his immediate retirement from the sport.
Hogg was set to hang up his boots after the Rugby World Cup which starts in September, but his body was unable to make it that far.
It means that the 31-year-old will not get the send-off he deserves, leaving many in the game devastated.
Sadness and pride
“I fought with everything I had to make the Rugby World Cup, but this time my body has not been able to do the things I wanted and needed it to do,” Hogg said in a statement.
“It is difficult where to start, but with great sadness and an enormous amount of pride, I am announcing my immediate retirement from playing rugby. We knew this day would come eventually – I just never thought it would be this soon.
“It’s hard to put into words just how much of an impact the game has had on my life. I will be retiring knowing that I have given my body and heart to rugby. I will be forever grateful to this amazing community and cannot wait to begin my journey as a proud supporter of the team.”
Plenty took to social media to send their love and support to Hogg, with commentator Jamie Lyall, who is a brilliant wordsmith, summing his impact up perfectly.
“How cruel sport can be,” Lyall wrote on Twitter. “Stuart Hogg was the face, the presence and the enduring icon of a resurgent time for Scottish rugby. Brilliant, gallus, never less than utterly captivating.
“The game took its toll on him of late, but today’s news is still desperately sad. What a player.”
Fellow commentator Nick Mullins also praised the Scotland legend, describing Hogg as one of his country’s greatest full-backs.
“Andy Irvine, Gavin Hastings, Stuart Hogg. In full sail, the most exhilarating Scotland full-backs I’ve ever seen. The World Cup will be that bit poorer for his absence,” he wrote.
For Andrew Forde, his message was quite simple, putting: “Stuart Hogg, one of the best to do it, legend.”
That sentiment was echoed by Chris Murray, who wrote: “Stuart Hogg’s one of the best to ever pull on the blue shirt and will rightly be remembered as such.”
However, he also realises that this moment had been coming with Hogg’s struggles with injuries well known, adding: “For a few years now, he hasn’t even been the best to wear 15. This is both unsurprising and what’s best for the team.”
Praise from former players
Scotland player-turned-pundit Andy Nicol watched him plenty of times in person over the years, describing him as a “legend.”
He wrote: “Well played @StuartWHOGG_ that was some shift. You are a @Scotlandteam legend. End of. An absolute pleasure to call your whole career. Enjoy retirement.
Hogg has also done plenty for the game off the field, helping out with the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.
“Thank you to our ambassador, Stuart Hogg, for all he’s done for the game. One of the greats and excited to see what the next chapter brings,” they wrote.
Finally, Finlay Morrison summed up Hogg’s contribution to Scottish rugby. While the team rarely reached the top level, the full-back regularly put in world-class displays.
“It’s easy to forget the dire state of @Scotlandteam when Stuart Hogg broke into the team back in 2012…” he wrote.
“Always a joy to watch and we were lucky to have him. Deservedly one of our most decorated players too.”
READ MORE: Scotland’s top try-scorer Stuart Hogg retires with ‘immediate effect’
The article Tributes pour in for the ‘brilliant’ Stuart Hogg as Scottish centurion retires appeared first on Planetrugby.com.
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