Stuart Hogg: Former Scotland Rugby captain faces new stalking charges

Former Scotland Rugby captain Stuart Hogg has been released on bail after he was arrested for allegedly breaking the terms of his initial bail agreement set back in February.

Hogg has been accused of stalking, harassing and displaying threatening behaviour towards his now-estranged wife Gillian Smith over a period of seven years. He has denied all charges put forth against him - he has been ordered to refrain from contacting Smith ‘under any circumstances’.

While he claimed his attempts to contact Smith were a plea to speak with his children, it has also been alleged that he blocked his wife’s car on the driveway to prevent her from driving off, contacted her ‘at antisocial hours’ and sent ‘messages of an alarming and distressing nature’.

Nevertheless, during his initial trial, Sheriff Peter Paterson said to Hogg: “It seems part of this may be your desire to see your children. For that reason you are going to be released on bail.”

Now, Hogg has been hit with allegations of stalking a second woman, whose identity remains unknown. He was arrested just hours before he was set to attend court for the initial set of allegations.

While he was in court yesterday, his defence lawyer, Mat Patrick, said [via The Scottish Sun]: "There is nothing in the new allegations that allege violence or any threats of violence."

During his career, Hogg has played for clubs such as Glasgow Warriors and Exeter Chiefs - currently, the 32 year old is signed with Montpellier, having recently made his debut for Les Bleu et Blanc. He has also amassed 100 caps for Scotland, scoring a total of 171 points for his country. Furthermore, he has also made two appearances for the British and Irish Lions - his last appearance for them came in 2021 during their tour of South Africa.