Wilfred Hodder (6 May 1896 – 12 November 1957) was a Welsh dual-code international

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

, and professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s, and rugby league administrator. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and at club level for

Talywain RFC Talywain Rugby Football Club are a Welsh rugby union club based in Talywain near the town of Pontypool, Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons. In December 1947 a combined Pont ...

and Pontypool RFC, as a

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

, and at club level for

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

, as a or . He was later a member of the

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at Wigan RLFC.

Background

Hodder was born in Abersychan, Wales, he was a

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face (mining), face; cutt ...

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

ier, served in the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It was created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of the regiment, the ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and he died aged 61 in

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

Lancaster, Lancashire Lancaster (, ) is a city in Lancashire, England, and the main cultural hub, economic and commercial centre of City of Lancaster district. The city is on the River Lune, directly inland from Morecambe Bay. Lancaster is the county town, although ...

Playing career

International honours

Hodder won 6 caps for

(RU) in 1922–1928 while at Pontypool RFC in 1921 against England, Scotland, and France, and won

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

s for

(RL) while at Wigan, including the 34–8 victory over New Zealand at Pontypridd in 1926, and five losses to England.

Club career

Hodder was in the Wigan team that won the Challenge Cup final when it was played for the first time at the Empire Stadium, Wembley on 4 May 1929. He was one of five Welshmen in the Wigan side. He also won the League Championship in his first season, the Lancashire Cup and League in his second season, the Lancashire League again in 1923/24, the Lancashire League and League Championship in 1924/25 and the Lancashire Cup in 1928/29.

Championship final appearances

Hodder played at in

's 13–2 victory over

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

Final during the 1921–22 season at The Cliff, Broughton on Saturday 6 May 1922, and played at in the 22–10 victory over

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

in the

Final during the 1925–26 season at Knowsley Road, St. Helens on Saturday 8 May 1926.

County Cup Final appearances

Hodder played at in

's 20–2 victory over

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

in the 1922–23 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1922–23 season at The Willows, Salford on Saturday 25 November 1922, played at in the 11–15 defeat by Swinton in the 1925–26 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1925–26 season at The Cliff, Broughton on Wednesday 9 December 1925, and played at in the 5–4 victory over

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...

in the 1928–29 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1928–29 season at The Willows, Salford on Saturday 24 November 1928.

References

External links

Statistics at wigan.rlfans.com
*(archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at newportgwentdragons.com
*(archived by web.archive.org
Profile at ww1talk.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodder, Wilfred 1896 births 1957 deaths 20th-century Welsh sportsmen British Army personnel of World War I British hoteliers British rugby league administrators Dual-code rugby internationals Pontypool RFC players Royal Field Artillery soldiers Rugby league players from Torfaen Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Rugby union locks Rugby union players from Torfaen Talywain RFC players Wales international rugby union players Wales national rugby league team players Welsh miners Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players Wigan Warriors players Other Nationalities rugby league team players