The last four European rugby champions have come from France, the club game in the country is arguably as strong as it's ever been. Recently, the amount of high-profile players moving over to the Six Nations runners-up to play their club rugby has rapidly increased.
Former Scottish International Stuart Hogg made his debut for Montpellier this weekend in their encounter with Toulouse. The 32-year-old was obviously keen to make an impact in his first appearance after coming out of retirement to join the French club in June of this year.
Hogg and Thomas Ramos were both yellow carded after a brawl broke out in the the final moments of the encounter between Montpellier and Toulouse.
😬 Stuart Hogg and Thomas Ramos getting into it during Montpellier’s clash against Toulouse! #TOP14 pic.twitter.com/AhuTNeE13j
— The Rugby Paper (@TheRugbyPaper) September 22, 2024
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That eagerness to make an impact may have been channeled in the wrong way as Hogg was involved in a brawl with French international Thomas Ramos. It resulted in both players being yellow-carded in the final few minutes of the match.
The scuffle escalated after he was grabbed around the throat by his former Scotland team-mate Blair Kinghorn.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Ramos commented on the incident:
We know how important points away from home can be. It was a slightly stupid incident from both us players. It’s not just because we’re not at home that we don’t show character. It shows the mentality of the whole team at the end of the match
The match ended in a 20-11 victory for Toulouse as they extend their unbeaten start to the Top 14 season to three matches. Meanwhile, Montpellier have lost two of their three matches and currently sit in 7th place.
