Hogg primed for European battle
By Mark Stevens
5/4/22
Stuart Hogg hopes Exeter Chiefs will use Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership victory over Bath as the springboard for a real assault on Munster in the Heineken Champions Cup.
The Chiefs will put domestic matters on the back burner for the next fortnight as they ready themselves for back-to-back encounters against the Irish province.
The first of those meetings takes place at Sandy Park this Saturday (5:30pm) before they meet at Thomond Park a week later in the return leg of their last 16 showdown.
For Hogg and the Chiefs, it’s knock-out rugby until the end of the season and the Scottish captain says he’s relishing the prospect of helping the Devonians in their quest to replicate their success of 2020, when they won both the Premiership and Champions Cup crowns.
“100% it’s do or die,” he said. “Every game between now and the end of the season is knock-out rugby, but equally every game can be a step closer to achieving something special. Beating Bath is a start - and it leads nicely into Munster - but we have to keep going because it’s an exciting time for the club as we try and get to the end goal.”
Hogg marked his return to Chiefs colours by helping the home side recover from a 22-7 defeat to eventually run out 42-22 victors over their Westcountry rivals. He was one of six try-scorers on the day, as well as slotting a couple of conversions, whilst Joe Simmonds was checked over for a head knock.
Exeter’s win made sure they remain in the top four with less than a handful of rounds remaining and provided the perfect warm-up for their latest European exploits.
“It’s a bit of a statement win,” added Hogg. “For us, we wanted to come and show a true performance and a true reflection of ourselves. At times we did that, but at times we weren’t quite on the money. We were challenged at half time by the coaches to come out and have a big second half and I think we did exactly that. To score 42 points at home is just outstanding.”
A powerful second half showing helped pave the way for the Chiefs, but Hogg admitted that lessons would need to be learnt in the wake of the Bath game.
“Defensively there were times where we weren’t great and we let Bath into the game. Credit to them, they took their opportunities. For us, it was a reality check that we would need to stay in every single phase, every single moment, and we dId that in the second half.
“There’s plenty for us to work on, particularly some of our defensive stuff, but that is stuff that we can be quick fixed. What we showed in the second half was what we are all about and it was a true reflection of ourselves. It allowed the crowd to get on their feet and they gave us the added boost we needed. That is what we want because I believe we achieve something special.”
Munster, however, will have other ideas and Hogg is acutely aware of the threat posed by the Irish side, who have won the competition twice, as well as reaching a further two finals.
“They live for Europe and their record speaks for itself,” warned Hogg. “They are outstanding side, full of quality players, so we’ll need to be at our best these next two weeks. Right now, we just have to rest and recover and get ourselves ready for them.”