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Former Scotland rugby union captain Stuart Hogg has avoided jail after abusing his estranged wife over the course of five years.
Hogg – who plays for French club Montpellier and was made an MBE for services to the sport in last year’s New Year Honours list – previously pleaded guilty to a single charge of domestic abuse of his ex-partner, Gillian Hogg, when he appeared at Selkirk Sheriff Court on 4 November.
The 32-year-old former Glasgow Warriors and Exeter Chiefs player admitted shouting and swearing, tracking her movements and sending her messages that were alarming and distressing in nature.
The court previously heard the defendant berated Ms 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.
Sheriff Peter Paterson sentenced Hogg, who now lives abroad, to a community payback order with one year of supervision and a second five-year non-harassment order when he appeared at Selkirk Sheriff Court for sentencing on Thursday.
Hogg, wearing a dark jacket and tie, made no comment as he left court accompanied by his parents. Police escorted him to a vehicle that pulled up to collect him as he walked past waiting media.
Hogg has already been banned from approaching or contacting Ms Hogg for five years after he admitted breaching bail conditions by repeatedly contacting her in June, when one night she received 28 texts from him.
Sheriff Paterson handed him the first five-year non-harassment order when he sentenced him for the bail conditions breach at Jedburgh Sheriff Court on 5 December, and also fined him £600, with an additional £40 victim surcharge.
Hogg was also due to be sentenced on the domestic abuse charge last month but Sheriff Paterson deferred sentence until Thursday for clarification on whether a community order with remotely monitored supervision could be imposed now that Hogg lives abroad.
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.
Prosecutor Drew Long told the court that day the couple, who are in the process of a divorce, 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 Ms Hogg of not being fun” for not joining in drinking, and that her family “noticed a change in her”.
In 2022, Ms 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, Ms 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 Ms Hogg to have a panic attack, and Hogg “sent in excess of 200 texts in a few hours despite being asked to leave her alone”.
On 21 February 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 Ms 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.
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.”
