The Four Questions I Would Ask.....Stuart Hogg

The four questions I would ask Stuart Hogg…

Stuart Hogg has been the stand out player for Scotland during some bleak times

 

I would ask Stuart Hogg who inspired him to play rugby and what age was he when he started? I would want to ask him this because he is one of Scotland’s best full backs ever along with Chris Paterson and Gavin Hastings and I would like to know if another fullback inspired him or if it was a player in a different position or a family member. Stuart Hogg has gone onto score 22 tries in his 86 caps and he has 148 points to his name and at only 24 he has plenty of time to get more.

 

I would also ask who is the best player he’s ever played with for club and for country. I would ask him this because he plays in a terrific Glasgow Warriors side that has performed well the last couple of years. He’s played for Scotland since 2012 and lots of good players have broken into the first team. I would want to know if he thinks a young player like Fynn Russell is the best youngster he’s seen, or if he would pick a more experienced player such as Grieg Laidlaw or Sean Lamont.

Stuart Hogg with another try for Glasgow Warriors, but what's more important club or country..???

The next question I would ask Stuart Hogg would be if he would ever leave Glasgow and what team would he leave for. I would ask him this because he’s been at Glasgow for a while and I’d like to know if he sees himself spending his career there or if he would consider a move to another team perhaps a struggling team and build them up or if he would go to one of the bigger clubs in the pro 12 such as Munster or Cardiff blues.

 

The next question I would ask him would be would he rather win the pro 12 with Glasgow Warriors or win the next 6 Nations with Scotland. I would ask him this because I would like to see what is more important to him a club medal or International title, and with Scotland improving over the year I would say it’s certainly looking more possible than in the last couple of years.

by Andrew Gilchrist

The Four Questions I Would Ask.......Walter Smith

Walter Smith was possibly the greatest manager in the history of Rangers Football Club. He won 21 major honours and reached many Cup finals and went through many good European campaigns, notably beating Leeds Utd in the ‘Battle of Britain’ and reaching the UEFA Cup Final in 2008. If I was to interview legendary Rangers’ manager, Walter Smith, I would ask:

 

1) When You First Moved to Rangers, did you think you could achieve just quite as much success as you did?

 

I would ask Walter Smith this because when he went to Rangers as assistant manager to player-manager Graham Souness after a fairly underwhelming playing career, could he really have imagined quite so much success – or even becoming the manager of the football club? He has, over time, developed a swagger when it comes to lifting trophies, and has beaten Celtic more than Jock Stein’s Celtic beat Rangers. He has won 21 major honours with Rangers, more than a sixth of the club’s total honours and has reached European finals and Domestic Cup finals many times. He was a crucial part of Rangers’ record 9 titles in a row throughout the late 80s and the 90s. What’s more is that he returned to Rangers in 2007 and achieved success again, with far less resources than in the 90s. He beat the trend of, ‘It’s never the same the second time round.’ Could he even have imagined becoming the manager of Rangers, taking over from Graham Souness, who galvanised the club and took them to their first league title in years in a very short space of time. He won the league at Pittodrie, where they had not got good results in years. If I was in his position I don’t know if I could imagine what was to come for Walter. It would be good to hear his thoughts.

Walter Smith pictured with one of his many top flight titles

2) Why couldn’t Rangers win a tenth title in a row and did you think Rangers would win it at the start of that season?

I would ask this because Rangers achieved so much success and glory throughout their 9 titles in a row, including many cups and European journeys. They had produced so many World class players. It was the greatest era in the club’s history and most of the players stayed on to try and go for ten in a row. Was it just fate that determined Rangers to fail in the final fixtures or was it his aging team? Was it because Walter had announced he would be departing at the end of the season? It would be interesting to hear if there was a particular reason he thought stopped a legendary tenth title in a row. Did he believe they could do it beforehand?

3) If Rangers hadn’t come calling in 2007, do you think you could have taken Scotland to a major tournament?

I would ask this because I remember Walter Smith saying he would not have left Scotland job for any other management job. He left and did a fantastic job at Rangers again but could things have gone well for the Scots had he stayed? He had been doing a fantastic job at Scotland. He had taken Scotland from Berti Vogts’ losing formula to a winning formula. He beat 1998 world champions France and had helped Scotland climb the World rankings. Does he think that he could have guided Scotland to a World Cup or European Championship? How far could they have gone in these tournaments? How long would he have stayed?

Could Walter Smith have been the right man to take Scotland to a major tournament?

 

4) What do you think of Mark Warburton so far and how long will it take for Rangers to be looking to challenge for the title?

 

Mark Warburton built a squad from a low budget and changed McCoist’s legacy of failure, followed up by Kenny McDowall’s disaster and Stuart McCall’s attempt at promotion. He won promotion to the premiership at a canter, won the challenge cup and led Rangers to the Scottish Cup final, beating Celtic on the way, before narrowly losing in the final. He has made an underwhelming start in the premiership this season so far, not meeting Rangers fans’ expectations. He has set records for worst starts in the top flight in years, despite many convincing performances. What does Walter think, as he has attended many matches and witnessed Mark’s new, fluent style of attacking football? Does he think Mark has done a good job so far? How much time should he be given to get Rangers consistently winning and how many years should he be given to guide Rangers to a 55th title? Walter knows better than anyone of the pressures of being the Rangers manager. Does he think Warburton is coping well with these pressures despite some slightly unusual comments and criticism of ‘The overly negative media’ in Scotland?

by Luke Randall

The Four Questions I Would Ask.......Joe Root

How did you get started in cricket?

 

I would ask Joe this because he started at a little club called Sheffield collegiate cricket club, they play at a decent standard, similar to the level I play for Stenhousemuir.

He is so humble and he is the type of guy that would be your best friend in school. He acts like he is in first year at school and he is like a baby in the England team.

 

A young Joe Root plays cricket in his Sheffield Collegiate shirt

 

 You have played 46 test matches and scored 4005 at a average of 54.86. Do you feel that you can break Alistair cooks record by the age of 30? Then do you think you can record Sachin Tendulkars recored of 15372 runs?

I would ask Joe root this because he is breaking every record there is and he is still only 26 years old. Famous Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar was 40 when he retired meaning Joe has 14 years to score 11367 runs if he stays fit. The way he is going now he will smash the record. He is in a 4 horse race with Virat Kholi, Steven Smith and Kane Williamson. Joe just laughs when the journalists ask him about the other players.

Joe Root just loves to bat, he enjoys himself when he is batting. He doesn’t put a lot of pressure on himself and always bats well because he is so relaxed.

 

Hats off, Joe Root hits a 100 runs yet again

 

 

Who was your childhood hero and why?

 I would ask Joe Root this because he grew up in an unsuccessful period in English cricket. The English team were ranked bottom of the ICC world rankings. They lost to Australia heavily in almost every Ashes series and they drew with Zimbabwe in 1996. I would imagine it would be a non-English player. He was in his teens when England were growing as a test match team. The thing is that England had a very good team on paper, but they had no success.

 

Joe Root with Michael Vaughn, but who was his childhood cricketing hero?

 

 

 

What steps did you take to make it as an International batsman?

 

This is my final question because I want to be a professional cricketer for Scotland, I would also like to play for Yorkshire too. I also like the style he plays with and I model my game on Joe’s. I would want to know about his training, the sacrifices he has made to get to the very top of the world of cricket and what it takes to be an International.

 

 

 

 

by Calum Grant