Stuart Hogg, who made 100 appearances for Scotland, pleaded guilty to one charge of domestic abuse over a five-year period at Selkirk Sheriff Court last month, and had been due to be sentenced on Thursday
Former Scotland rugby captain Stuart Hogg has been granted a five-year non-harassment order and fined after breaking bail.
Hogg also had his sentence for abusing his estranged wife, Gillian Hogg, over the period of five years, suspended until January 9, when he appeared at Jedburgh Sheriff Court for sentencing on Thursday.
For the bail breach, he was placed on a five-year non-harassment order and fined £600, with an additional £40 victim surcharge.
Hogg had been expected to stand trial before pleading guilty last month to a single charge of domestic assault against his estranged wife, between 2019 and 2024, at sites including Hawick, the Scottish Borders, and Bearsden, near Glasgow.
Last month in Selkirk Sheriff Court, Hogg, a father of four, acknowledged to sending his partner 200 text messages in a matter of hours after their marriage ended, as well as using phone apps to track her location. The court also heard that Hogg would return home from regular drinking nights out to be aggressive, shouting and swearing at his ex-wife, who would be upstairs with the couple’s children. He is claimed to have informed his girlfriend that she was “not being fun” during his tirades, leaving Ms.Hogg “wishing for it to be morning as soon as possible”.
Hogg, who won 100 caps for his nation before retiring in July and twice for the British and Irish Lions, said that the messages he received were unsettling and distressing.
Hogg, who plays for the French club Montpellier, now lives abroad and is going through divorce processes.
Hogg’s secret lover, ex-girlfriend Jilly O’Donnell, told the Mirror last month that his drinking lifestyle was the reason for his expulsion from the Scotland side.
She alleged that the former captain’s alcoholism and womanizing got him kicked off the team. Ms. O’Donnell stated: “Stuart called me during a riding weekend in Hawick. He had fallen off his horse and was drinking, but he was in a good mood. I was at the gym and started getting these calls.
“In one call, he mentioned that things were horrible. He told me, ‘Something terrible has happened. “I just need some time.” He never returned to training. He later said that he departed because he disliked it. He did not leave on purpose, and it was not due to an unexpected injury.
“He had been on a bender, and he kept saying that people were circulating rumors. My impression is that he was kicked off the team due to his drinking and womanizing. But they let him salvage face by claiming he left because his body couldn’t handle it.”
When asked about Hogg’s departure from the Scotland squad, a Scottish Rugby official responded last month: “Stuart Hogg informed us he was retiring with immediate effect in 2023, citing the toll rugby had taken on his body.”
Hogg received an MBE for his contributions to rugby in the 2024 New Year’s Honours List.
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