Former Scotland rugby player Stuart Hogg must make progress on domestic abuse court order, says lawyer

Former Scotland rugby union captain Stuart Hogg needs to make progress with a supervision order imposed after he admitted abusing his estranged wife over five years, a court has heard.

The 32-year-old pleaded guilty to a single charge of domestic abuse of his ex-partner, Gillian Hogg, when he appeared at Selkirk Sheriff Court in November last year.

He admitted shouting and swearing, tracking her movements and sending her messages which were alarming and distressing in nature.

Sheriff Peter Paterson sentenced Hogg to a community payback order with one year of supervision as an alternative to jail when he sentenced him in January, and also banned him from approaching or contacting Mrs Hogg for five years.

A review of the order took place at Jedburgh Sheriff Court on Tuesday, which Hogg was excused from attending.

Stuart Hogg, right, pictured outside court after being sentenced on the domestic abuse charge in January (Andrew Milligan/PA) PA Media

His lawyer Mat Patrick told the court: “We are just shy of three months into the order and the review report confirms that he is fully complying with the appointments, there have been no missed appointments.

“As far as progress is concerned, it looks like progress requires to be made but it is a 12-month order and is against the background of quite a difficult divorce which is ongoing at the moment and all the emotions that can come with that, and that has played a part.

“Obviously there is work to be done.”

Sheriff Paterson said it is “not entirely surprising” that Hogg might feel “hard done by”, but he needs to move on.

He said: “He is the one that pleaded guilty and he has to face the consequences of his actions and he has to move on from that.”

The sheriff fixed a further review of the order to take place on June 16.

He said: “If progress is satisfactory he will not have to attend, but if there is any difficulty he will have to attend.”

Hogg was banned from approaching or contacting Mrs Hogg for five years in December when he appeared at Jedburgh Sheriff Court after he admitted breaching bail conditions by repeatedly contacting her in June, when one night she received 28 texts from him.

He was also fined £600, with an additional £40 victim surcharge.

Hogg, right, did not have to attend court on Tuesday (Owen Humphreys/PA) PA Media

In relation to the domestic abuse charge, Selkirk Sheriff Court previously heard Hogg berated Mrs Hogg for “not being fun” after going on drinking binges with his colleagues, and once sent more than 200 text messages to her in the space of a few hours.

He had been due to stand trial at the same court in November but pleaded guilty that day to a charge of domestic abuse between 2019 and 2024 at locations including Hawick in the Scottish Borders.

At the hearing in November, prosecutor Drew Long said the couple moved to Exeter in 2019 with their three young children, all under three, but Hogg’s “behaviour deteriorated” as he went out partying.

Mr Long said Hogg would “shout and swear and accuse Mrs Hogg of not being fun” for not joining in drinking, and that her family “noticed a change in her”.

In 2022, Mrs Hogg went on a night out and was bombarded with text messages from her husband which “caught the attention of the people she was with”, the court heard.

The following year, the couple moved to Hawick in the Borders, but Hogg used an app to track his wife and “questioned her whereabouts” while she was dropping the children off, Mr Long told the court.

In 2023, Mrs Hogg decided to leave the rugby player and sought advice from a domestic abuse service.

The court heard that in September 2023, Hogg sent so many messages it led Mrs Hogg to have a panic attack.

On February 21 last year, police were called due to Hogg “shouting and swearing” and he was taken into custody and then placed on a bail order stipulating not to contact Mrs Hogg, or to enter the family home.

Hogg retired from professional rugby in July 2023 but last summer it was announced he was returning after signing for Montpellier on a two-year contract.

The former Glasgow Warriors and Exeter Chiefs player was made an MBE for services to the sport in last year’s New Year Honours list.

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has called for Hogg to be stripped of his MBE in the wake of the court case.