Stuart Hogg may have missed Scotland’s summer tour to form part of the historic British & Irish Lions tour to Australia – but he insists he saw enough of his compatriots to predict a successful autumn.
The full-back – who made five appearances Down Under, although he didn’t feature in any of the tests – is currently in a race against time to be fit for Scotland’s opening autumn Test against Japan on November 9 after injuring his right hand while on duty for Glasgow Warriors.
The 22-year-old will find out this week if the surgery on his scaphoid bone will rule him out of action when Scotland host Japan before Southern Hemisphere heavyweights South Africa and Australia travel to Murrayfield.
But even if he is ruled out, Hogg who watched Scotland’s summer fixtures against Samoa, South Africa and Italy from Australia believes his teammates are shaping up nicely to make a statement next month.
“I think we will go really well in the autumn,” said Hogg, who remains in a cast until later this month but has been able to work on speed and his place kicking in the meantime.
“Japan first up and we know they had a good result in the summer against Wales but Scotland are going well as well.
“We had a good win over Italy and a couple of good performances before that. I watched the games while I was away and was impressed with how we were playing," added Hogg, speaking to The Scotsman.
“The boys were playing well and we also have Glasgow and Edinburgh playing well and as long as we can all kick on we can do well.
“We have three tough games against Japan, South Africa and Australia but every game is tough nowadays but I am confident the boys can do well.”
