Despicable cheating tactics used in contest between Springbok le Roux and Hogg
It was a battle of fullbacks in the latest World Rugby Challenge last week as Scotland captain Stuart Hogg took on South African World Cup winner Willie le Roux in a contest to see who has the longest spiral kick.
Both players were kicking on other sides of the planet, with Hogg in Exeter and le Roux in South Africa, and were given five attempts each to post their longest kick.
The pair both have monster kicks on them, but le Roux may have reverted to dirty tactics in order to get the win. While Hogg may have had the wind on his side, as is customary at Exeter Chiefs’ Sandy Park, le Roux clearly was kicking at altitude. While eagle eyed viewers may have spotted the sign which said Paul Roos Gymnasium where Willie was kicking, which is not at altitude, it is obvious that he had that sign shipped to Johannesburg in order to give his kicks way more distance.
Playing at altitude has saved the Boks on countless occasions before, and it gave le Roux a major advantage over poor old Hogg who was having to kick at sea level. Then again, the South African would have had to turn to these tactics as he would have known going into the contest that the Scot has an absolute rocket of a boot.
Take a look and see who won:
Unfortunately for Hogg, le Roux came out on top at Murrayfield when the pair met in November during the Autumn Nations Series. This was actually an interesting game as director of rugby Rassie Erasmus was seen directing le Roux to target one of Scotland’s back three with kicks.
Of course, le Roux also was victorious when Hogg faced him in British & Irish Lions colours earlier this year, winning the series 2-1.