Hogg's adaptability could be is Test downfall...

How many think (as I suspect) that Stuart Hogg's ability to cover as the back-up flyhalf, could be his downfall when the test XV are selected.

The way I see it. Come the tests, with Sexton propably starting and Farell being the 10 on the bench, it is unlikley they will play these guys agasinst the Melbourne Rebels. Therefore he is most probably goign to play 10 again in that game and rested the Sat after (2nd Test). That means, unless he has a stormer between now and the 2nd Test, he is unlikely to feature in a Test jersey.

Anyone ?

I would quite like to see Hogg on the bench as cover for 10, wings and 15 and Farrell being the midweek 10. Hogg would be no worse than Farrell if he needed to come on and it would give an extra pick for the bench

Well as long as he isn't Patersoned I don't mind

Not at all.

Hogg is neither favourite to start at 10 or 15. He is merely a very talented youngster taking his opportunities and giving the coaches food for thought.

wanderingdragon wrote:I would quite like to see Hogg on the bench as cover for 10, wings and 15 and Farrell being the midweek 10. Hogg would be no worse than Farrell if he needed to come on and it would give an extra pick for the bench

Farrell was good against the Reds, the only competitive game so far.

No offence to Hogg, he's a fine player and versatile, but he's very much 3rd choice for the 10 shirt. Injuries could happen though.

Assuming a 5:3 bench split, Hogg would seem to be the perfect supersub and I suspect that Gatland knows this. He can play 15, 11/14 and has also played in the centre for Glasgow. As FES mentioned on the other thread, it lets Lions management choose a bench of scrum half, impact centre and generalist with a bit of gas like Hogg.

I don't think that the fact he will be midweek 10 cover will affect this decision. The only other midweek match I think that Hogg will need to cover 10 is the Rebels game on the 25th. Gats needs to see his 'real' 10s working with his test scrummie and centres in the next 2 matches.

I reckon Hogg deserves to feature in one of the 3 tests in some capacity. He's been one of the most impressive players so far.

hook is in the same boat with Wales so is Ryan Jones . being able to play in a few positions seems to work against u

I think he could be the 1st test winger.

Cuthbert is not on form and struggles defensively... dangerous vs. a strong attacking AUS team. Maitland has never convinced on tour (haven't yet seen todays matches but can hardly count given they were semi-pro players).

North, Halfpenny or Hogg. Sounds very creative.

I think if Hogg is going to start a Test it'll be at 15, moving Halfpenny to the wing - that always seemed to me to be the most likely route into the XV for Hogg.

Personally I can't see it. I think his best chance of being involved is from the bench, if Gatland is happy to risk not having Farrell as back-up 10.

Hogg showed he could handle playing ten from the bench and could add the zip and adventure we need. Very glad he went well today.

Probably worth giving him minutes vs. the Tahs then at 10... see if he can handle it against pro's.

His adaptability is probably the main reason he made the tour to be honest. He is a good player but not as good a 15 as 1/2p nor Kearney and not as good an OH as Sexton and Farrell.

Given he's played 2 matches at OH since school, from accounts of today's match he hasn't done too badly. I'd worry if he was a better OH then Farrell.. perhaps I wouldn't be surprised though!

I think there is some truth in the original post here - particularly as Gatland took just two out halves. Gatland may see Hogg as more utility than nailed on and his most likely chance is therefore from the bench.

Some great points here which could be Hoggs ace up his sleeve.

That being he can cover 15, 14/11, and now 10, as well as played at Centre for Glasgow. I suppose if you wanted someone to cover the full 3/4 line, he's your man... In the same way I was saying Hook should have been called instead of Zebo.

Taking that into consideration, perhaps we are going to see a shift change in the teams make up, with Farell being demoted to the "mid week" games to make place for Hogg on the Test bench as Mr Utility...

This is a strong possibility, so I think I'm changing my mind from my opening post....

If Hogg becomes test bench cover for fullback and flyhalf, as well as wing, that means we can pick a centre/wing like Tuilagi on the bench as an impact player.

Makes very good sense to me. We have the game scenario for Wales with Hook on the bench, it works well for us.