A tight-head prop and a hooker drifting together in a defence line? Stuart Hogg’s eyes must have lit up.
Defence is king in modern day rugby and moments of pure spontaneity are rare gems, especially at Test level. Fullbacks and wingers often find themselves pitched into rucks to win back possession, doubling up with forwards on tackles or sent back and forth on kick chase duties.
So, when an opportunity to target a weakness in a pressing defence arises, you can’t keep the gleam from their eyes.
During the latest episode of The Hard Yards, the discussion turned to how France’s Fijian-born wingers would look to target Ireland’s front five and exploit their pace advantages. Leinster and Ireland prop Mike Ross sagely nodded his head before sharing a story from last year’s Six Nations win over Scotland. Ross said:
“Conor Murray took a box-kick and I was chasing up the line with Bestie. I look up and I see Stuart Hogg catch the ball.
“I see him scanning across the line and he looks eyes with me, and I’m like, ‘Naw, naw, do not come near me’.
“He made a beeline for me and I think Tommy Seymour was outside him. Bestie pushed off a little too much and he was away. I couldn’t do anything much about that, in the long and short of it.”
“That’s what a good backs player does,” Ross added, “he looks for the mismatch.”
Ross’ other regret is that he won’t be able to get his revenge on Hogg, the Scotland and presumptive Lions, fullback in a scrum any time soon. Knowing Hogg, though, he’d fancy his chances of holding his own.
You can hear more from Mike Ross, Donncha O’Callaghan and Chris Farrell in The Hard Yards rugby podcast, here:
