{"id":195235,"date":"2025-10-12T16:05:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T16:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/195235\/"},"modified":"2025-10-12T16:05:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T16:05:07","slug":"stuart-hogg-reveals-the-reason-he-returned-to-rugby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/195235\/","title":{"rendered":"Stuart Hogg reveals the reason he returned to rugby"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Former Scotland star Stuart Hogg has revealed in The Rugby Paper how he missed the \u201ccamaraderie, the laughs, the buzz\u201d of rugby during his one-year retirement from the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The 33-year-old retired from playing in 2023 having finished up at Exeter and then making himself unavailable for the Rugby World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>However, he returned to the pitch a year later, signing for Montpellier in a move that has helped him find comfort following the break-up of his marriage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI missed the buzz, the changing room, the banter,\u201d Hogg said. \u201cI missed rugby more than I ever realised. I gave up on my rugby career to try and save my marriage. At the time, I didn\u2019t know who I was.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was up to my eyeballs on anti-depressants. I didn\u2019t know what was going on in life, whether I was making people happy or sad. I used alcohol to escape. I was purely existing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/tag\/doddie-weir\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Doddie Aid cycle ride<\/a> from Scotland to Rome changed everything. For the first time since retiring, I felt part of a team again. I came back and told my dad, \u2018I\u2019ve made the biggest mistake of my life.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI missed the camaraderie, the laughs, the buzz. I needed that back. The real downside is being away from my kids and getting the chance to go back and see them regularly. The hope is that they will be able to come out to France and see me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/news\/the-valid-point-why-an-ex-england-player-cant-get-enough-of-most-forceful-ball-carrier-in-the-english-league\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The \u2018valid point\u2019 why an ex-England player can\u2019t get enough of \u2018most forceful ball-carrier in the English league\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p>From selfishness to strength<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/tag\/stuart-hogg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Hogg\u2019s divorce<\/a> was finalised just this week, and he has since been granted an application by Sheriff Peter Paterson for his non-harassment order (NHO) to be relaxed so that he and his ex-wife can keep in touch through a co-parenting app, without third-party aid.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThings are improving on that front, which I\u2019m grateful for, so things are definitely improving for me and my family. I live 20 minutes from Montpellier, five minutes from the beach. It\u2019s relaxing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe players and coaches value me, maybe because I finally value myself. I\u2019m in a better place mentally than I have been in years. I used to think being selfish was strength.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I took that too far. I hurt people. Now, I\u2019m learning to be selfless for the right reasons \u2013 for my kids, my partner, my team. I know I\u2019ll never be the same Stuart Hogg I once was, but I\u2019m okay with it. I\u2019ve found peace.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m living in the now. Everyone asks about life after rugby. I spent too long worrying about the future. Now I just want to play until I can\u2019t play anymore. Rugby will always be part of my life \u2013 100 per cent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>READ MORE:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/news\/i-dont-think-you-expect-that-to-happen-former-connacht-player-scores-incredible-champ-rugby-try-after-just-eight-seconds\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">\u2018I don\u2019t think you expect that to happen\u2019 \u2013 Former Connacht player scores incredible Champ Rugby try after just eight seconds<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Scotland star Stuart Hogg has revealed in The Rugby Paper how he missed the \u201ccamaraderie, the laughs,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":195236,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[348,50,5903,101,85201,18093,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-195235","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-home-page","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-rugby","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-stuart-hogg","13":"tag-top-14","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/195236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}