Borders rugby star Stuart Hogg’s comeback from retirement reportedly confirmed by French club president

Though no official announcement has been made by French Top 14 club Montpellier Herault, their president, Mohed Altrad, confirmed during a press briefing yesterday, June 18, on next season’s coaching arrangements that a deal had been agreed with the Borderer.

The 100-times-capped full-back, 32 next Monday, has signed a two-year contract with the option of an extra year potentially taking him past his 35th birthday, according to Altrad.

The 76-year-old’s confirmation of Hogg’s recruitment was offered as an aside during an announcement that former French national head coach and government secretary of state for sport Bernard Laporte is to carry on as the Occitania club’s director of rugby despite having been fined €75,000 in December 2022 and given a suspended two-year prison sentence for corruption over shirt sponsorship deals.

The same case saw Altrad handed an 18-month suspended sentence and a €50,000 fine.

“He has a very clear role and he keeps it,” said Altrad.

“He’s not here to coach; he doesn’t want to. He is there to bring his considerable experience.

“He has connections for recruitment. He was quite valuable at that level, for example, in recruiting Stuart Hogg.

“He will continue to bring his vision of the game. He discusses with staff our playing system, choice of teams, strategy, tactics etc.

“There may be friction in a group but he has the last word.

“Bernard Laporte is the boss for the medium to long term.”

Asked how long the ex-Scottish skipper, younger brother of new Hawick head coach Graham Hogg, had signed up for, Altrad replied: “I think it’s three years – two years, plus one, it seems to me.”

His confirmation of Hogg’s signing – taking him in the opposite direction to fellow ex-Hawick player Rory Sutherland, now heading back to Scotland after a season in France with Oyonnax – follows Montpellier securing their top-flight status with a 20-18 relegation play-off win away to Grenoble on Sunday, thanks to a 76th-minute penalty.

If his move goes ahead, Montpellier will be only Hogg’s third senior club after playing for Glasgow Warriors from 2010 to 2019 and Exeter Chiefs from 2019 to 2023, following stints at Ayr, Stirling County, Heriot’s and Hawick.

Hogg, latterly a pundit for TNT Sports, announced what was initially intended to be his forthcoming retiral from playing last July, saying “my body has not been able to do the things I wanted and needed it to do”, envisaging that autumn’s Rugby World Cup as his last hurrah but later changed his mind and instead called it a day ahead of the tournament.

He’s not played since being brought on as a replacement by Exeter during a 47-28 loss away to La Rochelle at the end of April last year and ruled out a comeback to professional rugby as recently as three months ago in a podcast interview with fellow ex-Scottish international Jim Hamilton, saying: “I think I’ll play again but I don’t think I’ll play professionally.

“I might have a little run-out for Hawick next season and see how that goes.

“Will I play professionally again? Probably not.

“Could I have taken a sabbatical? Maybe I could have but I didn’t want to be in the position of going ‘I’m going to take this period off and maybe come back’. I needed clarity that I am completely out of it, all in or all out.

“I couldn’t face sitting now thinking ‘I’m going to have to continually train to be in a good shape to then come back. I’m going to have to always work on my skills’.

“Could I have gone about it a different way? Potentially, but the decision now is that I am retired and I stand by that. Physically and mentally I wasn’t there.”

It was initially reported that Hogg’s recruitment by Montpellier was as injury cover for French international Anthony Bouthier, currently out of action with a ruptured cruciate ligament, but a longer-term return to playing now looks to be in prospect, potentially offering scope to overtake the record for Scotland appearances currently held by Kelso’s Ross Ford with 110.

His former Glasgow and Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has welcomed this week’s reports of Hogg reversing his decision to retire, saying: “He was obviously a fantastic rugby player who was in our world cup training squad before he reached a decision to retire, so if he does come back, we wish him all the best.”