Hogg gunning for victory over arch-rivals
The 23-year-old signed a new two-year deal with Edinburgh Gunners earlier this week.
With Scotland teammates Chris Paterson, Mike Blair, Hugo Southwell and Alastair Kellock all signing new contracts at Edinburgh, flanker Hogg believes many of the squad can now focus fully on the RBS 6 Nations Championship clash with England at Murrayfield.
Hogg said: “Now we are really looking forward to the England game and cannot wait for the match.
“We are just tweaking bits and bobs at the moment because the heavy work has been done.”
But Hogg admits the Scots must be ready for an early onslaught from Andy Robinson’s team at the weekend.
He said: “England are a big side. They are relatively predictable - you know what they are going to do but what they do, they do very well.
“They are a powerful side with a lot of big guys and will be running hard and really just trying to bully us.
“So, defensively, we have really got to be solid and knock them back and not let them get the upper hand.”
The return of Nathan Hines to the Scotland set-up has acted as a major boost to the Scotland squad.
The Perpignan lock quit the international arena a year ago after becoming disillusioned during the reign of Matt Williams. But the former Leinster head coach was dismissed a few weeks later. Now Hines has returned under former Edinburgh head coach, Frank Hadden, and will start on the bench against England.
Hogg says the team have welcomed the Australian-born forward back to the ranks with open arms.
He added: “Nathan is a great player and, while he hasn’t played recently for personal reasons, it is not as if he has just come out of retirement saying he would fancy a crack at it again.
“Nathan had genuine reasons. It is good to have him back in the squad.”
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