Matt Hodgson (born ) is an Australian sports administrator and former professional

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 for the

Western Force The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competition in 2017. F ...

and the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...

, the Australian national team. He is currently head of rugby at Global Rapid Rugby which launched its Asia-Pacific Showcase competition in 2019. During his rugby career Hodgson won eleven caps for Australia and was the first Western Force player to earn 100 caps for the club. He captained the Force for many years, including in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

when the club had the most successful season in their

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 ...

history with nine wins. Hodgson's leadership and playing form in that season earned him a recall to the Wallabies for the test series against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

Career

Hodgson began his rugby career with his local team the Avoca Sharks in the NSW Central Coast town of Avoca Beach. At age 17, Hodgson was drafted by the

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the state, ...

as a flyhalf/centre and was redeveloped as a loose forward. However, he did not receive any

caps for the franchise in that season, which saw him leave the club to represent amateur clubs to develop into a full-time

flanker Flanker may refer to: * Flanker (perfume), a newly created perfume sharing attributes of an existing one * Flanker (rugby union), a position in rugby union (not found in rugby league) * ''Su-27 Flanker'' (video game), a 1996 computer game modelin ...

. While training with the Waratahs, Hodgson played for Sydney Club Rugby teams Eastwood Rugby Club (1999–2003) and Manly RUFC (2004–05). His form as a flanker, saw Hodgson receive a call up into the Australian under-21s team for the 2002 Under 21 Rugby World Championship. He started in the number 7 jersey in the grand final against South Africa under-21, who were the winning side 24–21 in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

. He was part of the

Eastwood Rugby Club Eastwood Rugby is a 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 le ...

winning side in the 2002

Shute Shield The Shute Shield is a semi-professional rugby union competition in Sydney, Australia. It is the premier club competition in New South Wales. The Shute Shield is awarded to the winning team from the Sydney premiership grand final held at the end ...

, where he was named man-of-the match in the 19–15 win over

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

2005 – Debut Super Rugby season

In 2005, Hodgson was a member of the

Australian sevens The Australia Sevens is an international rugby sevens tournament that was first played in 1986. Currently hosted as the Sydney Sevens, the event is part of the World Rugby Sevens Series. The tournament was held in Brisbane, in Adelaide, and ...

side that finished seventh in the

2004–05 World Sevens Series The 2004–05 Sevens World Series was the sixth edition of the global circuit for men's national rugby sevens teams, organised by the International Rugby Board since 1999–2000. The defending series champions New Zealand retained their title by ...

. In addition to this, he got his first taste of international rugby, playing for the Australian A side against the

Junior All Blacks The All Blacks XV is the second national rugby union team of New Zealand, after the All Blacks. New Zealand's second national team has had numerous names in its history: Junior All Blacks, New Zealand XV, New Zealand A, New Zealand B, All Blacks ...

in Canberra. Further more, Hodgson signed with the

, for their inaugural season of

. He made his super rugby debut at home,

Subiaco Oval Subiaco Oval (; nicknamed Subi) was a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia, located in the suburb of Subiaco. It was opened in 1908 and closed in 2017 after the completion of the new Perth Stadium in Burswood. Subiaco Oval was the hig ...

, against the

Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005–2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the feral horses which inhab ...

who were the victors in that match 25–10. At the end of his debut season with the Force, he was awarded the inaugural presentation of the 2006 Force Man award – a recognition given to the player deemed to best represent the club's values in all that they do both on and off the field. This award was again won by Hodgson in 2007, 2009 and in 2010.

2009 – Australia

Hodgson enjoyed a break-out season in 2009, earning his first Western Force Player of the Year award and first Wallabies call up. He debuted for Australia in the non-cap earning 55–7 annihilation of the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less ...

Sydney Football Stadium The Sydney Football Stadium, commercially known as Allianz Stadium and previously Aussie Stadium, was a football stadium in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia. Built in 1988 next to the Sydney Cricket Ground, the stadium was Sydney's premier rect ...

. A serious AC Joint injury sustained during the 39th minute sidelined Hodgson for 3 months, but he returned for the Spring Tour later that year and performed in the midweek matches against

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east of t ...

and

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff ...

. 2010 Super rugby season saw Hodgson awarded his second Player of the Year award in so many years. Hodgson rounded off 2010 with two Man of the Match performances on Wallaby Spring tour against Munster and Leicester. Hodgson's first test cap was a substitution from the bench in the 49–3 victory against Fiji in Canberra, during the 2010 mid-year rugby union internationals. He also made appearances from the bench in tests against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

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 ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

during the 2010 season. He earned his first starting position against

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

in Sydney during the 2011 mid-year rugby union internationals. On that occasion Samoa won 32–23 in a shock victory. Hodgson was a member of the 2011 World Cup Squad, called up as an injury replacement for Wycliff Palu. Hodgson is contracted until the end of the 2015 Super Rugby Season with the Western Force. Hodgson is managed by the Fordham Company in Sydney.

Personal life

In 2009, Hodgson graduated with a Bachelor of Exercise Science &

Sports Management Sport management is the field of business dealing with sports and recreation. Sports management involves any combination of skills that correspond with planning, organizing, directing, controlling, budgeting, leading, or evaluating of any organi ...

from

Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a public university in Australia. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome. History Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamati ...

. In 2011, he completed a Real Estate Sales Agent course. He was reported to be enrolled in the Masters of Business Management (Sports Law) at

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia. Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn P ...

in December 2011. Hodgson was awarded the 2011 RUPA Academic Award. Hodgson owns F45 Training West Leederville. The first F45 Training franchise to open in Western Australia. (Opened 26 May 2014) Hodgson calls

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

home, is married to Jo Hodgson and father to Hunter Patrick Hodgson (born in 2013).

Super Rugby statistics

References

External links

Official Website

Wallabies Player Profile

Western Force Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodgson, Matt 1981 births Australian rugby union players Australia international rugby union players Western Force players New South Wales Waratahs players Male rugby sevens players Rugby union flankers Living people Perth Spirit players Rugby union players from Sydney