Alexander T O A. Hodgman (born 16 July 1993) is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player who currently plays as a prop for in New Zealand's domestic

Mitre 10 Cup The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...

and the in the international

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

competition.

Career

Early career

Born and raised in Auckland, Hodgman attended

Mount Albert Grammar School Mount Albert Grammar School, commonly known as MAGS, is a co-educational state secondary school in Mount Albert in Auckland, New Zealand. It teaches students in year levels 9 to 13. , Mount Albert Grammar School is the second largest school in ...

in the city and was also a member of the under-18 program during that time. Hodgman represented Fiji Under-20 at the

2012 IRB Junior World Championship The 2012 IRB Junior World Championship was the fifth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. This competition replaced the now defunct Under 19 and Under 21 world championships. The event was organised in South A ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

, however he changed allegiances ahead of the 2013 edition and turned out for New Zealand Under-20. Although contracted for the side, Hodgman suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in 2013, so he debuted for during the 2014 ITM Cup. He made 9 appearances during his first season at provincial level in what was a disappointing campaign overall for the Cantabrians.

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

and 2016 were far more successful years which ended in Canterbury lifting the Premiership title and in 2016 adding the

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challeng ...

to their list of honours. Impressive domestic performances saw Hodgman named in the wider training group for the

2015 Super Rugby season The 2015 Super Rugby season was the 20th season of Super Rugby and the fifth season featuring an expanded 15-team format. For sponsorship reasons, this competition was known as Asteron Life Super Rugby in Australia, Investec Super Rugby in New Z ...

where injuries to several front rowers allowed him to make 5 appearances during the campaign, including 1 start. He was subsequently promoted to a full contract for 2016, but was only able to add 4 more caps to his career total. Seeking more game time, he headed back home to Auckland and signed for the ahead of the

2017 Super Rugby season The 2017 Super Rugby season was the 22nd season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. It was the second season featuring an expanded ...

. Near the end of the season, following impressive performances, Hodgman played as a replacement for the Blues against the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

, coming on in the 57th minute for Ofa Tu'ungafasi, in the team's surprise 22-16 win against the Lions.

2020-21

With All Blacks loosehead prop,

Karl Tu'inukuafe George Zvi Karl Tu'inukuafe (born 21 February 1993) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays for the in Super Rugby, and for North Harbour in the Mitre 10 Cup. His position of choice is loosehead prop. He has previously repre ...

, suffering from injuries in 2020, Hodgman was elevated to a starting role in the Blues during

Super Rugby Aotearoa Super Rugby Aotearoa currently named the Sky Super Rugby Aotearoa for sponsorship purposes is a professional men's rugby union national club competition in New Zealand. Originally created to supplement the 2020 Super Rugby season, which was sus ...

. At the end of Super Rugby, Hodgman was named in the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasma ...

team, for the

2020 North vs South rugby union match On 5 September 2020, was a rugby union match played between provinces on the North Island and the South Island of New Zealand. It was the eighty-first game between the islands and was the second one-off game after the fundraiser for the Otago Ru ...

. Although Hodgman did not play in the match due to a minor injury, he was selected for New Zealand's international team, the All Blacks, the following day. Hodgman made his international debut for New Zealand on the 8th October 2020, in a 27-7 win against Australia. Hodgman replaced an injured Joe Moody in the first half. In a 2021 Blues game against the Highlanders, Hodgman was sent off, after receiving a red card. Though Hodgman started for the Blues in the

Super Rugby Trans-Tasman Super Rugby Trans-Tasman (known as Harvey Norman Super Rugby Trans-Tasman in Australia and Sky Super Rugby Trans-Tasman in New Zealand) was a professional men's rugby union club competition in Australia and New Zealand. It featured the five ...

final, he was not selected for the All Blacks in 2021.

Personal life

Hodgman's son was born in 2019. He has Fijian ancestry.

Career Honours

Canterbury *

National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship, ...

, 2016

Super Rugby Statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodgman, Alex 1993 births New Zealand rugby union players Canterbury rugby union players Crusaders (rugby union) players Rugby union props Living people Rugby union players from Auckland New Zealand people of Fijian descent People educated at Mount Albert Grammar School New Zealand international rugby union players Blues (Super Rugby) players Auckland rugby union players