'I've given everything I could to the game'

Ben Jaycock sits down with Stuart Hogg to discuss his career and his plans for the future

- Ben Jaycock

SCOTLAND centurion Stuart Hogg made shockwaves across the rugby landscape when he announced his immediate retirement last month having previously been set to bow out after the World Cup.

Scotland’s record try scorer decided to hang up his boots because he felt his body was letting him down. Knee surgery had hindered his ability to replicate his blistering form of previous years and Hogg admits he fell out of love with playing the game.

Hogg, 31, who scored 27 tries for Scotland, told The Rugby Paper: “I always had high standards in what I was trying to achieve but unfortunately the body let me down which is disappointing.

“I decided enough was enough and my body was affecting my mood. Being around my wife with three kids and another on the way, it’s not a healthy environment for me to be involved in when I feel like this. I’ve been in rugby for a very long time and I felt like I’ve given everything that I could possibly give to the game.”

Hogg, who is now a pundit for TNT Sports, added: “I was excited for life after rugby. I got to the point of thinking ‘why wait’. I would have loved to have gone to the World Cup but physically I was nowhere near where I needed to be. I’m not someone who goes into things half-hearted and I got to the point where enough is enough.

“I got to the point where it was becoming a chore and I’d always said to myself whenever rugby became a job it was a time to walk away. I was struggling to get motivated to get my body moving.”