Rugby star Stuart Hogg given payback order and supervision for domestic abuse

Former Scotland rugby union captain Stuart Hogg will be supervised for a year as an alternative to jail after he admitted abusing his estranged wife over the course of five years.

The 32-year-old father-of-four admitted a single charge of domestic abuse, between 2019 and 2024 at locations including Hawick, the Scottish Borders, and Bearsden, near Glasgow in November 2024.

Sentencing had been deferred in December for clarification over whether a community order with remotely monitored supervision can be imposed.

Sheriff Peter Paterson sentenced Hogg to a community payback order with one year of supervision when he appeared at Selkirk Sheriff Court for sentencing on Thursday.

He also imposed another non-harassment order barring Hogg from approaching or contacting Mrs Hogg for five years, mirroring one imposed last month.

He told Hogg the sentence is an “alternative to custody”.

Hogg, wearing a dark jacket and tie, made no comment as he left court accompanied by his parents.

Police escorted him to a vehicle which pulled up to collect him as he walked past waiting media.

There will be a review of the order at Jedburgh Sheriff Court on March 25.

The sheriff said: “I’ve no reason to doubt that Mr Hogg will comply with the order. It is an unusual order, it is a hybrid.”

It comes after he admitted he “did engage in a course of behaviour which was abusive of your ex-partner, Gillian Hogg” and that he “did shout and swear in an aggressive manner, track her movements (and) send her messages which were alarming and distressing in nature”.

In December, the court heard Hogg berated his wife for “not being fun” after going on drinking binges with his colleagues, and sent “in excess of 200 text messages in a few hours despite having been asked to leave her alone” and that Mrs Hogg had a panic attack due to the messages.

Prosecutor Drew Long said that Mrs Hogg was “scared” of her husband when he became angry and would “wish it was morning so he would sober up”.

Mr Long said that the couple moved to Exeter in 2019 with their three young children, all aged under three years old, but Hogg’s “behaviour deteriorated” as he went out partying with colleagues.

The prosecutor told the court Hogg would “shout and swear and accuse her of not being fun” for not joining in drinking, and that Mrs Hogg’s 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 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.

The prosecutor said, in September 2023, Hogg sent so many messages that it “led (Mrs Hogg) to have a panic attack”, and that Hogg “sent in excess of 200 texts in a few hours despite being asked to leave her alone”.

In February 2024, Hogg entered the family home despite being told not to and became “belligerent”, and Mrs Hogg sought legal advice, the court heard.

On February 21, 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 her, or to enter the family home.

The court heard that in August 2024, Hogg was on a video call to his children and requested that they pass the device to Mrs Hogg, despite instructions not to contact her.

Defending Hogg, Angela Gray KC said: “The incidents in isolation would have been unlikely to reach the threshold required for a prosecution in the criminal courts. Mr Hogg accepts these incidents have in isolation fallen short of what is expected of a husband.

“It is accepted by Mr Hogg that his conduct, looked at within that framework (of Domestic Abuse Act 2018), was criminal in nature.”

She said that the “deteriorating” relationship had been subject to additional “scrutiny placed on it”, and that Hogg’s position was that his behaviour was “never intended to be abusive”, the court heard.

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.

Lynne Barrie, procurator fiscal for Lothian and Borders, said: “Stuart Hogg has now been convicted and held accountable for subjecting his estranged wife to years of domestic abuse.

“The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service recognises the devastating impact of domestic abuse and is committed to the robust prosecution of offences, regardless of who the offender is.

“No-one should have to live in fear of a partner or former partner. The trauma suffered by victims – and children who witness these crimes – is significant.

“I would urge anyone affected by similar offending to come forward and report it.

“We will use all the tools available to us to secure justice, and you will be listened to and supported throughout the process.”