For the Premiership’s ultimate polymath, look no further than Josh Hodge. If rugby as a concept had never existed, there’s a good chance the Exeter full-back would still be on our television screens in something sporty.
Before following the rugby path, starting at Newcastle after attending the prestigious Sedbergh School on a sports scholarship, Hodge was at Preston North End’s academy, a national standard decathlete and an invitee to the British under-21 clay pigeon shooting development squad. – only 15 years old. A Josh of all trades? A master of a few too.
“I was very fortunate to have supportive parents who threw me into every sport possible,” Hodge told Telegraph Sport. “I was a very natural sportsman; things came quite easily with hand-eye coordination. I just threw myself into all kinds of different sporting categories because when I went down the rugby route I got my quick feet and my coordination from football; the decathlon brought with it that athletic ability: jumping, stepping and changing direction.
“Of all those players, I have played the most rugby. Especially at Sedbergh, where we worked for one and a half, two hours a day. Every weekend was all about rugby. That was it. The [Newcastle] contract came first for rugby and so it went. I kept all my options open.
“I could probably take up photography after rugby. I still shoot now. There’s a gun shop here that I work well with. They shoot Ashcombe on the coast, which is great. They always try to get me to participate in competitions, but because of competitions I am never available. I enjoy my photography, I enjoy being out there and I love the people who participate in it.
“If I hadn’t had rugby and if my mother had wanted me to ride a motorcycle, I probably would have gone quite high in motocross. No fear. One of them killed me. I walked around the family field for hours.
“When I first arrived at Sedbergh in Year 5, I had no idea what I was doing in rugby: going forward and running backwards, that sort of thing. An all-round athlete, but not refined.”
How educational the years have been for Hodge, who has emerged as one of the Premier League’s most threatening full-backs in recent seasons and will be crucial to Exeter’s Champions Cup campaign, which resumes against Bath on Saturday .
Hodge’s good form earned him a deserved starting place for England A’s crushing 91-5 win over Portugal in February, after a serious elbow injury suffered at the start of the season halted his progress. But since his return in Exeter’s European defeat in Bayonne, Hodge has looked as lethal as ever with the ball, an asset recognized by England head coach Steve Borthwick.
The timing, with a summer tour to New Zealand on the horizon and the England full-back more up for grabs than ever following the omission of Freddie Steward and the development of George Furbank, could not have been more favorable for Hodge following his call-up as an apprentice with Eddie Jones’ Six Nations team in 2020.
“Steve arrived the morning of the A game and said he was really excited to see what I was bringing to the game,” says Hodge. “He said he knew I was a dangerous runner and when I look at my game now, it’s all about counting when to run, when to kick and when to pass. I know I can run up to people.
“A lot of my rugby so far has been played among the 20-somethings, where it was quite open and things weren’t so ‘on point’ – you could get away with a few things. What I worked on analytically during that injury period was a lot of analyzing what was the right option at the right time. In the future it’s going to be about playing around with teams a bit. I can kick off with both feet. It will always be quite dangerous to make teams doubt whether I will run or kick.
“There will always be an eye on that New Zealand tour, because what a great trip that is going to be, especially with that group of guys. To try to prove yourself to succeed… brilliant. But right now it’s the run-up, and us [at Exeter] wants to advance to the semi-finals and finals. That’s where we want to be and where we’ve set our goals, even though people may have written us off earlier this year.”
‘I’m probably one of the fastest in the Premier League’
From a conversation with Rob Baxter, Exeter’s director of rugby, it is clear that Hodge is held in high regard. However, weighing just 90kg, the fullback is not the biggest. Now his goal is that Holy Grail; becoming firmer in contact without losing what makes him great: his speed. Hodge can look to one of his rival England full-backs, Furbank, as an example of adding some wood “here and there” without sacrificing pace.
“Just to help the contact and go that extra mile, to stay on our feet,” said Hodge. “That will come. There is no rush, but that is the goal; not to become a ‘bigger’ player, but to be able to use my weight, speed and distribution of footwork in contact to buy myself a little more time.
“In the Premier League I am probably at the top [as one of the quickest]. I think I have the top speed at the club at the moment. I’d like to think I’m up there in the Prem. There are still a few fast guys: Adam Radwan is fast.”
Incredibly, there is another string to Hodge’s bow that remains largely untouched at the top level: goalkicking. Hodge is doing everything he can to replicate his form off the tee with England under-20s for Chiefs.
“It’s one of my strengths,” says Hodge. “I have been wanting to get back to my goal kicking non-stop, continuing the England under-20s form. I was 24 out of 24 at the World Cup there; 40 out of 41 in the entire under-20s campaign. I really enjoy it. It makes me feel a little more part of the game, especially when things can get a little slow during the winter months.
“Exeter has said my time will come. If after a few games the goal kicking hasn’t gone the way we wanted, I’ve taken a step further. In the Saracens game on my [Premiership] yield. I practice daily and I’m just waiting for that opportunity to arise. And when the time comes, hopefully I’ll take it.
“It’s a USP. To have that is huge as a full-back. If I can hit them from 50, 60 out, that’s a game changer – especially if your frontline goal kicker only has a range from 40 out. Like Elliot Daly, I feel comfortable in that area.”
With Hodge’s shooting ability, it’s certainly no surprise that he’s a sharpshooter off the tee.
“I always have a routine before I shoot,” says Hodge. “The same goes for kicking at a goal. You need to keep the same routine so that if you miss something, you can fall back on what went wrong. Too many steps, too far to the left or right. The same goes for shooting.”
Hodge will continue to carry the plus-fours, but the blackthorn gin will have to wait for now; perhaps for the day of a full England call-up, or for another trophy in Exeter’s cabinet.