'Hit like a ton of bricks' - Stuart Hogg reveals the real reason he's retired

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His announcement last month that he intends to quit playing after the upcoming World Cup in France came as a surprise to the rugby community.

Hogg, who has been selected three times for the British and Irish Lions, cited his deteriorating physical condition as the reason for his decision to retire.

“I had been thinking of it for a while. You look at the disappointment of the 2017 Lions tour, picking up all the injuries and then starting to get all the hate (online abuse)," .

“It took me a while to get over the disappointment of that tour, so for the for the couple of years ahead of the 2021 Lions tour I said, ‘Right, this is my time. I’m going to go all out to make sure I get on this tour’.

“I was chuffed to bits, over the moon to be in a position to go on a third tour. I didn’t see myself as a proper Lion until I get a Test match and if I didn’t get a Test match, to this day I still wouldn’t believe I am a proper Lion.

“So I targeted that from an individual point of view, that I am going to do everything I possibly can to get there. And I loved it, I absolutely loved it, but the only thing looking back is we played a Lions tour in South Africa with nobody in the stands.

“Since then, I have really, really struggled with my body. I had done everything to get there. I have got patellar tendinitis in both knees, worse in the right than in the left.

“I remember speaking to older boys who said you get to a certain point in your career – and it just hits you. Bang. It just hits you. I was like, ‘It will never happen to me. Never happen to me’. In 2021 after the Six Nations, that time came. It just hit me like a ton of bricks.

“I was like, ‘Holy shit, what has happened here?’ It was just game on game I was trying to do everything I possibly could to build up to play. Went on the Lions tour, had an extended time off, didn’t do any pre-season training or anything like that, I wanted to mentally switch off and recharge. Came back in, did a couple of weeks of training, straight back into playing – and I played a lot of rugby that season – and then the body just started to break down.

“I worked closely with Steve Haw, our physio at the club, and he has been absolutely outstanding. I was spending hours on the physio bed every day to get right and I have just got to the point where having a young family, it breaks my heart when my son comes up to me and says, ‘Dad, do you want to go and play football in the garden after training?’

“But I’m absolutely knackered, I’m in too much pain that I can’t go outside. I’m like, ‘Enough is enough, family is my priority and rugby has started to become a job’."

Here’s some of the most prominent rugby players to have made waves in business.

After confirming his retirement, Hogg said in a statement: "A new career beckons and I will attack in the same manner as I play the game."

The Scotland legend has revealed he isn't too keen on coaching, but will remain in the game as a pundit after making his debut on BBC during the 2023 Six Nations.

Sources tell RUCK that BT Sport (soon to be TNT Sports) are keen. to recruit the fullback as a key part of their 2023/24 Premiership coverage.

He is the co-owner of steak house Finsbay Flatiron in Glasgow.

The focus for Finsbay Flatiron is steak, specialising in 8oz flat irons (as the name suggests) and steaks from £8 on weekdays and £10 on weekends, as well as sides like mac and cheese and triple cooked chips.

He's a director of a distillery named Maiden Batch.

Caulker's is a collaborative effort between five Glasgow men, two of whom happen to be British Lions and Scotland rugby internationals, Hogg and Alastair Kellock. The bottle is signed by all five.

The veteran fly-half, who will hang up his boots following the 2023 Rugby World Cup, confirmed in an interview with the Irish Times that he likely won't go into coaching.

Sexton said: "I would never say never, you never know what life is going to throw at you

“It wouldn’t be my plan straight away, if an offer came in, it wouldn’t be right for me to coach with guys I played with the last number of years.

"I certainly wouldn’t want to jeopardise this year, because if they find out you’re coaching them, the relationship changes straight away. I won’t be doing it for the foreseeable future.

"Rugby is my passion, it’s all I’ve known. I’ve been doing it for 20 years, longer maybe, when I was a kid. But I think it’s important to step away from it to try another walk of life. And then we’ll see what happens."

“I’ll go and see if I can do something in the business world, I’ve been doing a bit of work experience there over the last few years, one day a week, so I’ll go into that and see how it goes.

“It might not be for me. I might get the itch straight away and come out of retirement, play for St Marys!”

The previous year saw a significant rise in accumulated profits at the management company owned by Johnny Sexton, the renowned rugby captain of Ireland.

The profits surged by nearly £307,000, reaching an impressive total of almost £2.5m.

The England and Exeter Chiefs winger is the co-owner of The Swordfish Inn back in his hometown of Cornwall.

Sitting on the harbourfront, the pub has been a favourite of local fishermen, artists and visitors alike for as long as anyone cares to remember and is well-known for its rugged charm and atmosphere.

He is also a director of MUSTARD Clothing

Established in 2003 by the Rugby World Cup Winner & MBE, Raging Bull clothing has grown from grassroots rugby to a brand that punches well above its weight having supplied sportswear to national and international level sides.

Vickery also opened Cheltenham based restaurant No.3 nine years after the former prop won Celebrity Masterchef. With a passion for food and people, Vickery can’t wait to welcome you all to No.3 for a truly memorable dining experience.

Making a Tuilagi Gin was often talked about in the early hours of the morning by the brothers after many gin and tonics. As there are fifteen players on the rugby pitch, they have added fifteen botanicals to their gin.

Some of the botanicals they use in their recipe are; Juniper, Coriander, Orris, Sage, Thyme, Mac cloves, Lavender, Rose and Orange peel.