Stuart Hogg fell foul of Scotland 'ambiguity', says Exeter Chiefs' Rob Baxter
- Published
Stuart Hogg came close to scoring a try for Scotland in their defeat by Ireland
Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter says Scotland captain Stuart Hogg fell foul of "a little bit of ambiguity" and not national team rules.
Hogg said he apologised to players and staff after he and five others broke team protocol by visiting a bar in Edinburgh after their win in Italy.
Baxter described the incident during the Six Nations as "very minor".
"I think people are trying to make out there has been a clear breach of team rules - there's not been," he said.
"I think there was a little bit of ambiguity over what was supposed to happen when he got back to the hotel. That ambiguity was cleared up with a phone call asking the guys to come back."
Baxter was speaking before fourth-top Exeter's home game against Premiership leaders Leicester Tigers on Sunday.
Hogg and fellow backs Ali Price, Darcy Graham and Sam Johnson started Scotland's 26-5 defeat by Ireland - their final Six Nations fixture - despite being involved in the incident following the Italy game.
Fly-half Finn Russell was a replacement but centre Sione Tuipulotu was not involved in the squad in Dublin.
Asked at the end of the Six Nations whether Hogg would remain captain, Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend would only say the full-back was skipper "just now" but pointed out that "it's a long time until our next tournament".
Baxter suggested Hogg's frustration after the Ireland game was probably because he realised "it wasn't a huge issue".
"It was one of those things, sometimes it can happen, but it all got cleared up very quickly, almost within minutes of the incident," the Exeter coach adds.
"It's not like anyone's gone out and got drunk and got into a fight, or come back at six o'clock in the morning or missed training.
"So I can probably understand why the Scottish people involved are a little frustrated that this has been a big issue, because it clearly hasn't been."
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