EXETER’S squad is talented, but while it has been incredibly competitive in the Premiership over the last four seasons, it has left Rob Baxter puzzling over what the missing link is when it comes to replicating it in the European Cup.
What the Chiefs director of rugby will know by now is that to be among the top dogs in Europe you must have an interchangeable heavyweight pack that is a strong off the bench as it is in the starting 15, a 9-10 partnership with brains, and a backline with more than a sprinkling of stardust.
A player who has added to Exeter’s stardust bank this season is the Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg, and it is no coincidence that his arrival this season sees the Devon side go into tomorrow’s fourth-round back-to-back return leg against Sale unbeaten at the top of their European Cup pool.
Hogg has the pedigree of not only being a Lions tourist in 2013 and 2017 but also being named twice as Six Nations player of the tournament (2016 and 2017).
He is a good footballer who reads the game very well – and who has the speed to make those attributes count. As well as being quick, Hogg’s kicking game is varied, and he can pull defences out of shape with long spirals or downtown kicks into the opposition half, or use grubbers and chip-kicks which leave defenders playing catch-up.
Like England full-back Elliot Daly and his Welsh counterpart Liam Williams, the Scot is quick enough to also play on the wing – and like them he is much more of an attacking 15 than a defensive one.
Hogg is not the tallest full-back, and nor is he the most commanding in the air – however, because he has played in the position for much longer than Daly, he is not often exposed in the same way under the high ball.
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