Non-Harassment Order Issued to Rugby Player Stuart Hogg

A five-year non-harassment order has been issued to Stuart Hogg, the former captain of Scotland’s rugby union team, along along with a £600 fine, following his violation of bail conditions. The sentencing for the former Scotland international, concerning the abuse of his estranged wife over a five-year period, has been postponed until January. Mr. Hogg, aged 32, had previously acknowledged engaging in shouting, swearing, and abusive conduct directed at his wife, Gillian. During proceedings at Jedburgh Sheriff Court, Sheriff Peter Paterson imposed a five-year non-harassment order, prohibiting Hogg from contacting his wife, but postponed the sentencing for the domestic abuse charge until January 9. Earlier, Hogg confessed to violating his bail conditions by repeatedly making contact with his wife in June. Sheriff Paterson delayed the sentencing for the domestic abuse charge to assess the feasibility of Hogg undertaking a rehabilitation course remotely, given his current rugby commitments in France. The previous month, Hogg, who is a player for Montpellier, pleaded guilty to a single charge pertaining to persistent abusive behavior directed at his now estranged wife. His actions, spanning a five-year duration until August of the current year, constituted a pattern of conduct that instilled fear or alarm in her. Testimony presented in court detailed instances where he frequently shouted and swore at his wife, both during their time residing in Hawick and later in Exeter, when Hogg was a player for the Exeter Chiefs. Furthermore, the charge encompassed Hogg’s monitoring of his wife’s location via the Find My Phone application subsequent to their separation in 2023, and his dispatching of potentially hundreds of text messages to her within a span of several hours. He is scheduled to receive his sentence for these matters in the new year. The former fullback for the Glasgow Warriors had retired from rugby union prior to last year’s World Cup, having accumulated a hundred senior caps and participated in three British and Irish Lions tours. He continues to be recognized as one of Scotland’s top try scorers historically and was granted an MBE in the 2024 New Year honours list for his contributions to rugby union. Hogg emerged from retirement during the summer to sign a two-year agreement with Montpellier.