The most dynamic figure in the current Scotland squad may not be an obvious target for the contentious modern cultural phenomenon of ‘body shaming’, but Stuart Hogg admitted yesterday that dissatisfaction with what he saw in photos of himself have played a part in his new streamlined look.

Scotland’s full-back reckons he shed nine kilogrammes during a lengthy spell on the sidelines after getting a shock when team-mate Dunc Weir’s wedding photos were passed round and it forced him to take a serious look at his lifestyle.

The 25-year-old, who has been the Six Nations player of the championship in each of the past two seasons, even revealed with a laugh that Guinness - once recommended to those needing to build themselves up - had been among the things he has cut down on.

“I was sick of seeing photos of how fat I was getting, so I decided to shed a few pounds. It’s made a difference in terms of how I look and how I play but also in terms of life in general. It sounds like I’ve been in rehab!” he said with a laugh. “It was mainly after the summer. I knew I was getting a shoulder op and I had the potential to balloon. It was actually at Dunkie Weir’s wedding (in July), where I was an usher and I was struggling to get the jacket shut from the measurements taken six months earlier. I wanted to make a difference and I thought that I had been a couple of kilos too heavy over the last few years. It just happened that I managed to lose a lot. I feel comfortable at this weight and feel I can do more damage at this weight. Hopefully it will work. There are a lot of different things, including looking at photos. We were asked individually at the August camp what we were going to do to make this our best season and I just wanted to see if that would make a difference. Touch wood, so far it has. I feel I can go longer and have a bigger influence on the game. The challenge now is to stay at this weight. I know exactly what I have to eat and drink and all the supplements to take. If that benefits my game then that’s good.”

It speaks to Hogg’s talent that he has had such an impact on international rugby in spite of admitting he has been given the right messages from medics and nutritionists down the years, but that “I just wasn’t listening”.

“I think the biggest thing was learning about all the foods to eat,” he added. “I had a rough idea what was best for me, but it seemed that the takeaways were taking over. There are a lot of factors, but it’s just being more professional about everyday life as opposed to just when you’re in playing rugby. I feel a lot better for it. The main thing is just being prepared. I have two young kids who take up a lot of time, so the wife and I try to get the food prepared once a week so we’re not just getting a takeaway if we can’t be bothered to cook.”

All of which can only be all the more encouraging for Scotland ahead of the forthcoming autumn Tests given that he scored tries in both matches he played last month on returning to the game four months after being ruled out of the British & Irish Lions tour on which coach Warren Gatland has confirmed that he would have been the first Scot to start a Test matches for 16 years. Never short of confidence, Hogg has drawn additional encouragement from the way he is performing in training as well as those appearances against Leinster in the European Champions Cup and the South African Kings in the Pro14.

“I was quick last year but now it’s roughly similar scores but more consistent and I feel I can go for longer as well,” he said of the times he has been setting. “I’m never going to be a guy who can run over the top of people. I need to be in a position where I can go around them or step them. So I’ve done a lot of speedwork when I was injured and hopefully that will help.”

Nor was the need to improve his physical conditioning the only thing he learned over a summer which saw him tour with the Lions for a second time.

“I worked closely with Rob Howley, Warren Gatland and Andy Farrell. Cracking coaches,” he said. “I was only there a short time but I still managed to learn a lot, things I’ve tried since getting back to full fitness. It’s only going to improve me getting different feedback from different coaches. I just want to get the best out of myself. If anybody has got any feedback I’m going to take it on board.”

As for the immediate challenge before he finally gets another crack at the All Blacks, he reckons he and his team-mates must take the lessons of Scotland’s last meeting with the their next opponents on board to get their autumn Test campaign off to the expected start.

“We didn’t respect the ball enough. We coughed it up too many times,” he said of the 2015 World Cup meeting with Samoa which almost saw Scotland edged out of the tournament in the pool stages. . They had absolutely nothing to lose in that game. They weren’t going to qualify. They were just chucking it about left, right and centre. We’ve learned a lot from that. You get teams like that, Fiji and Samoa, they’re all the same. They like to play expansive rugby and look for the offloading game. We need to look after the ball in our attack and take our opportunities when they’re up for grabs.”