Young Scot Stuart Hogg is the guardian Lion
Fullback Stuart Hogg is the custodian of mascot ‘Bil’ and the role keeps him on his toes as he prepares to take on Barbarians and Australians
Stuart Hogg might just be the person to unlock Australia's defences over the next seven weeks, having been put through the mill over the past few weeks by his team-mates.
As keeper of the team mascot Bil (after the British & Irish Lions) - the youngest player traditionally gets the job - Hogg, 20, has had to endure the pranks of the rest of the 36-man squad, who have taken every opportunity to try to hide the prized lion.
"It has been pretty tricky and pretty tough to be honest. Some of the guys think it is a good idea to hide Bil and it has been frustrating keeping an eye on it," said an exasperated Hogg, the fullback for today's opening game. "More often than not I have had to go hunting for Bil after finishing a tough training session."
The longest he has 'lost' Bil was at the very outset when the squad was in camp in Wales when the mascot went missing for 30 minutes.
"That was the longest we have been apart," Hogg said. "We were training indoors and I had put him on top of some jumping blocks. I found him after a long search, well hidden under them."
But things are on the improve and the fact he is able to find Bil before he is 'fined' for losing him proves Hogg is nimble with his thought processes, values which might come in useful for the Glasgow Warriors fullback as he tries to stake a claim for a prized spot in the test team.