Known for his searing pace and electric feet – and occasional lack of temperament, Stuart Hogg has become one of the Lions and Scotland’s most exciting assets.
As this archive video from BordersRugby.net shows, Hogg has developed his attacking flair from a very young age.
Stuart Hogg: 12 things you didn’t know about the new Scotland captain
Being one of the most popular players on the globe is likely to generate an incredible fan-base globally, but we are fairly confident that there are some aspects of Stuart Hogg’s life and career you are not familiar with.
1. MAGICAL?!
Scotland fan JK Rowling has mentioned that the fleet-footed Stuart Hogg might be a full wizard. He is also briefly mentioned on Pottermore, in an excerpt written by Rowling for the website, suggesting that he and fellow players Jim Hamilton and Kelly Brown are in fact squibs – wizard-born with no magical powers
That thing where I said Stuart Hogg might be a Squib? He’s a wizard. #AsOne #6Nations
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 19, 2016
2. FAMILY
is father, John, played as a championship winning full-back for Hawick before becoming a rugby referee and his brother, Graham, played for Scotland 7s in the IRB Sevens World Series as well as representing Scotland at three different age grades.
3. DISTANT RELATIONS
In 2012, following his Scotland debut, he discovered he was a distant relative of George Best. A close relative of Best recognised the link after seeing Hogg play on television.
4. INCREDIBLE STATS
In a struggling Scotland side in the 2015 Six Nations Championship, Hogg made the most metres (442); beat the most defenders (18); and made the second most carries (63).