English Rugby En Francais: Does farewell to England mean au revoir to English Law?

Stuart Hogg MBE, Scotland’s former rugby union captain, all-time record try scorer and three time British and Irish Lion, has often had his on-field heroics immortalised on the back pages of newspapers up and down the country. 

In recent weeks, however, Hogg has been making headlines on the front pages for his off-field actions, and for all the wrong reasons: shortly after his international rugby career came to an end, Hogg pleaded guilty to domestic abuse charges relating to his now estranged wife and mother of his four children, Gillian Hogg:

“Hogg, who currently plays for Montpellier in France, admitted a single charge which related to repeated abusive behaviour towards his now estranged wife.  Over a five-year period, up to August of this year, he engaged in a course of conduct which caused her fear or alarm."

He is due to be sentenced on 5 December 2024. 

Despite retiring from all forms of rugby before last year’s Rugby World Cup, Hogg subsequently signed a two-year contract with French club, Montpellier, at the start of this 2024/2025 season.  He currently lives in France and is said to be expecting his fifth child with a new girlfriend. 

Hogg joins a host of high-profile rugby players from England, Scotland and Wales now plying their trade in the Top 14, including Owen Farrell, Kyle Sinckler, Courtney Lawes, Jack Willis, Dan Biggar, Alun Wyn Jones and Henry Arundell.  French clubs, who operate within a much larger salary cap than English or Welsh rugby union clubs, and indeed who are far richer than their counterparts in Scotland and Wales, are able to offer greater remuneration.  They tend to attract far larger crowds too. The trade-off is that signing for a foreign club often makes players ineligible for selection for their national team.  The English RFU, for example, does not permit those playing in France to be selected for the international team, unless they have recently had to move teams out of necessity as a consequence of an English club going into administration. 

Like Jonny Wilkinson before them, now a hero in Toulon where he twice won the European cup, a number of these players are at the end of illustrious careers: they have retired from international rugby and are enjoying the financial rewards French rugby has to offer. Dan Biggar and Courtney Lawes are good examples.  For others, like Henry Arundell and Jack Willis, choosing the financial benefits on offer across the Channel comes at the expense of international caps during the peak of their playing careers.

When a player relocates, invariably that means uprooting their families.  These amazing professional opportunities can often put a strain on personal relationships, especially if there are children of the family. 

In the unfortunate event that those relationships breakdown, financial claims can arise in connection with a marriage/civil partnership or between unmarried parents. 

Stuart Hogg’s court proceedings relate to incidents that happened before he relocated, but it would be understandable for an athlete in France (or anywhere else for that matter) to believe that the laws of the country in which they are living will apply to any financial claims relating to their relationship. 

That is not necessarily correct and, where the laws of different countries vary dramatically, the laws applicable to any dispute are highly relevant.  It is important for any athlete in such a position to take specialist legal advice at the earliest possible opportunity. 

The English court may still have jurisdiction to deal with financial claims in connection with a marriage/civil partnership where:

1. both parties to the marriage/civil partnership are habitually resident in England and Wales;
2. both parties to the marriage/civil partnership were last habitually resident in England and Wales and one of them continues to reside there;
3. the respondent is habitually resident in England and Wales;
4. the applicant is habitually resident in England and Wales and has resided there for at least one year immediately before the application was made;
5. the applicant is domiciled and habitually resident in England and Wales and has resided there for at least six months immediately before the application was made;
6. both parties to the marriage/civil partnership are domiciled in England and Wales; or
7. either of the parties to the marriage is domiciled in England and Wales.

As such, if one spouse were to remain in England or Wales, or if the whole family has moved but one or both spouses remain domiciled in England and Wales, an application for divorce/dissolution and financial provision can be made to the court in England, which is known to be a generous jurisdiction to the financial weaker party.  

This can dramatically alter the outcome of financial claims arising out of relationship breakdown.

Jurisdictional disputes can be difficult and complex: specialist legal advice must be taken as soon as possible. 

At Charles Russell Speechlys we have particular expertise in advising relocating athletes and other international families, both in connection with relationship breakdown and asset protection, including nuptial agreements.  Our specialist family lawyers understand athletes’ unique personal and professional needs, including the desire to resolve matters quickly and confidentiality.