Rugby internationalist and coach
Born: March 2, 1948;
Died: August 8, 2017, aged 69
GRAHAM Hogg, who has died aged 69, was a Scottish rugby internationalist and coach who played a massive role in the game in Edinburgh. He made it into the full Scotland squad in 1978, winning two caps off the bench, against France and Wales.
It was his misfortune to come out of Hawick High School into the then vibrant Hawick rugby world at a time when the green shirts were worn in his position by Alistair Cranston and Jim Renwick, who was his cousin. Hogg's career began with the semi-junior Hawick Wanderers, before he moved up through Hawick Linden, to wear the famous green shirt of the senior Hawick side.
But going up to Edinburgh University meant leaving his native town and moving to Edinburgh – although, like a good “Teri” his heart was always in Teviotdale.
In the capital, his rugby talent flourished in the colours of Boroughmuir, and Greco, as Hogg was universally known, began to be noticed through his displays at Meggetland.
Selection for Edinburgh followed and, in 1978 he made it into the full Scotland squad. The caps came within a two-week period and in both games, he replaced the unfortunate Dave Shedden of West of Scotland.
These were the days of amateur rugby and Graham Hogg had a full-time job. He had joined the Inland Revenue and spent most of is working life with HMRC – although training and later coaching filled his leisure time.
He switched seamlessly to coaching at the end of his playing days, initially with Boroughmuir, then with Edinburgh District, where his success saw him invited into the SRU's coaching team, most fruitfully in 1998, when he was part of a managerial triumvirate, under head coach Dougie Morgan, who guided Scotland A to a Five Nations Grand Slam.
Ireland A were accounted for 11-9 in Dublin, their French counterparts dispatched 24-20 in Edinburgh, Wales A were beaten 18-10 away and the Grand Slam was concluded with a six-try romp against England 42-14 at Inverleith.
Morgan, the former British Lion and Scotland captain was the boss, but he leaned heavily on backs coach Hogg and forwards coach Hugh Campbell during that triumphant campaign, saying: “The win over England was as good a rugby performance as I have witnessed in the last 20 years by any Scottish side. Graham and Hugh prepared the side so thoroughly and much of the success must in part be credited to them for their organisational and motivational skills.”
Hogg also coached the Scottish Districts XV and Scottish Students, but his greatest coaching achievements would come following his switch to the then hugely-ambitious Currie club, languishing in Division Four of the National Leagues. Their new coach, lauded as a towering figure within the club by president Phil Thomas, soon galvanised the club, which rose through the divisions to win the Scottish Club Championship in 2006 and again in 2010.
He then handed over the main coaching role to Ally Donaldson, who in turn gave way to Ben Cairns, but, always, Hogg, the Malleny Park club's chairman of Rugby, was in the background, observing, and always ready to assist and guide when required.
Graham Hogg had that rare gift of lifting ordinary players, making them want to play for him and to improve. He was a strict disciplinarian and woe betide the player who was late for a team meeting; the tardy arriver would be greeted with the instruction to “bide oot” should the meeting have started.
He inspired loyalty though, and former Boroughmuir team mate and current SRU president Rob Flockhart said of him: “Graham was a highly intelligent man, an outstanding motivator (in his own inimitable style) and a great coach who gained the respect of, and improved the game of, all those he coached. On and off the pitch he was a special servant to our game."
Grant McKelvey, who played under Hogg’s guidance at Edinburgh, said: “Greco is a man that a generation of rugby players in Scotland are indebted to. He had the ability to squeeze every last effort out of you in games and training.
“He was held in the highest regard possible by his players. He was a man manager before his time, had the ability to connect with everyone and had a huge influence and impact on all the players he coached for many seasons. Greco was a man you would crawl over broken glass to play for."
Graham and his wife Jeanette, who survives him and was also from Hawick, had no children of their own – the young men he helped mould through his coaching were his “children” and, like the rest of Scottish rugby, are devastated that such an iconic figure should be taken too early.
One of the youngsters he helped to greatness, Gloucester and Scotland centre Matt Scott, who first encountered “Greco” when a teenage wannabe at Currie, said: “When I was moving up from the under-18s at Currie into the senior set-up it was a big move, but Graham was always there for me to chat to about things and was always offering advice.
“He was a very good coach and you could always learn from him, he will be a big loss.”
MATT VALLANCE
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