Cheering for underdogs Fiji to upset Australia at last year’s World Cup isn’t exactly the traditional method for prop Alex Hodgman to show he has a potential future as a Wallaby.
It did show that the four-Test All Black of 2020 is a man who lives in the moment and the future is just that.
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Hodgman, 30, is an intriguing addition to the Australian scene this season with his two-year contract to play for the Queensland Reds in Super Rugby Pacific.
His father Geoff, an Australian-Fijian, was born in Melbourne and his mother Lucia is Samoan. It gives Hodgman a fascinating second shot at an international career despite being a Kiwi from the top of his head to the tip of his flip-flops.
His Fijian heritage spurred his support for the tiny island nation when one of the World Cup’s most stirring upsets was taking shape last September a month after he’d agreed to terms with the Reds.
Hodgman was impressive on Thursday in his first media appearance as a Red. His answers were thoughtful and he deliberately didn’t grab at anything resembling a cocky notion that he just had to pack a few good scrums to become a Wallaby.
“I’ve actually experienced this before with the All Blacks. When I was trying too hard to try to become an All Black I started doing things out of character. So for me, I just want to be a great Reds man and from there whatever opportunities come my way, I’ll take.
“For me, at the moment, it’s how do I get on the field, how do I compete with the guys around me, how can I put my best foot forward.”
With a laugh, he added: “Dad is all over the show, eh. When we were watching the games (of the World Cup) we didn’t know who we were going for. It was nice just being a spectator and enjoying it all. We were definitely rooting for Fiji at the World Cup. It was so cool to see.”
After a long career in New Zealand rugby with the Crusaders, Blues and National Provincial Championship teams, he wanted the change and challenge of shifting to a totally new environment.
More than that, he wanted the rhythm and stability of a settled family unit. His brother William was already living in Brisbane with his family.
Hodgman and wife Serene have settled into a home in Brisbane’s south-western suburbs with their three kids. His parents have now joined them.
“It was time for a change for me and my family. I’d been at the Blues for a long time. Any new club you go to is different and somewhere you keep growing and learning,” Hodgman said.
The decision to leave NZ?
“It was straightforward. I wanted to stay local, I didn’t want to leave the southern hemisphere and I wanted to get my family together in a really good base when I might retire one day. We’re loving it here,” he said.
“Man, I’ve learnt so much already from Les (new Reds coach Les Kiss) and his team. We’re fit,that’s for sure, and we’re going to be physical.
“It’s a whole new look, a whole new coaching team and a new facility (at Ballymore). We’ve got all the tools to build this place and, for me, it’s just taking I’ve learnt in NZ and adding it to this environment.”
Hodgman, fit again after a shoulder injury last year, knows it’s going to be competitive for a front-row sport at the Reds with Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, another former All Black, Fijian Test prop Peni Ravai, new Wallaby Zane Nonggorr and Junior Wallaby Massimo De Lutiis in the squad.
Hodgman’s ruck work and a little ball-playing are features apart from the grunt his 122kg frame adds to any scrum.
Kiwi Toby Smith turned a Super Rugby career in NZ into four seasons at the Melbourne Rebels and a brief Wallabies career which included a debut at the 2015 World Cup. The path is there if Hodgman’s fitness and form warrant it.
He’ll get his first chances in a Reds jersey in the pre-season trials against the Western Force at Ballymore (February 3) and NSW Waratahs in Roma (February 10).
