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Charlie Hodgson

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For the Scottish rugby international, see Charlie Hodgson (rugby union, born 1938).

Charlie Hodgson
Birth nameCharles Christopher Hodgson
Date of birth (1980-11-12) 12 November 1980 (age 44)
Place of birthHalifax, England
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight86 kg (13 st 8 lb)[1]
SchoolBradford Grammar School
UniversityUniversity of Durham
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fly-half
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2000–11 Sale Sharks 228 (2,558)
2011–16 Saracens 132 (870)
Correct as of 21 May 2016
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2001–12 England 38 (269)
2005 British & Irish Lions
Correct as of 25 October 2011
Coaching career
Years Team
2017- 2018 London Irish

Charles Christopher Hodgson (born 12 November 1980) is a retired English rugby union player, having previously been a player for Sale Sharks and Saracens. His position was fly-half and he is the leading Premiership points scorer of all time. Hodgson also played for England, until announcing his international retirement in 2012. Hodgson made 18 consecutive starts at fly half for England between 2004 and 2006.[2]

Early years

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Born on 12 November 1980 in Halifax, West Yorkshire, Hodgson was educated at Bradford Grammar School;[3] the school hosts a rugby tournament for under-12s called the Charlie Hodgson Cup.[4] He was a huge Halifax rugby league fan long before he ever played rugby union. A family friend invited him to Old Brodleians rugby club and his first game was for the opposition, as they were short. He has also played for Old Brodleians, Durham University and Yorkshire. He was first picked for Yorkshire by Keith Dyas.

International

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He marked his England début with a record-breaking 44-point haul against Romania in November 2001, the most by any England player in a test match, when England won 134–0.

He was selected at centre in the 2003 Six Nations. He played 2 games at centre, only to be demoted to the subs bench for the third match against Italy. It was in this game he picked up a serious injury. He made a return to action during the 2003/04 season, after having been sidelined for eight months with a ruptured cruciate ligament in his left knee.[5] The injury had denied him selection for the 2003 World Cup and another injury kept him out of the 2004 Six Nations. He played at fly-half during the 2004 summer tour to the Southern Hemisphere, for all three internationals against New Zealand and Australia. He was named Man of the Match against Canada in the Autumn of that year.

Hodgson has received criticism for not being Jonny Wilkinson and his inconsistent goal kicking, which was partly responsible for England's disappointing performance in the 2005 Six Nations championship.[citation needed]

Hodgson was selected for the 2005 British & Irish Lions tour of New Zealand.

Whilst playing for England against South Africa on 18 November 2006, Hodgson ruptured the cruciate ligament in his right knee that ensured he would miss the rest of the 2006/07 season. Subsequently, he did not appear for England throughout the whole of 2007, missing the 2007 Rugby World Cup through injury, just as he had in 2003.[6] Hodgson made his return to the England squad for the 2008 Six Nations Championship.[7][8] Hodgson was dropped during England's tour of New Zealand in 2008 as he was perceived to have a weak defence.[9]

After two years away from the international side, Hodgson was selected to play for England in May 2010. During his time away from the England set-up, Hodgson had improved his defence enough to impress the new coach, Martin Johnson.[9]

Hodgson was selected for England's June tour of New Zealand. He was selected at fly-half for the first test but was subbed early in the second half because of some defensive errors most notably the missed tackle on centre Ma'a Nonu which led to a try. He took no further part in the tour. Hodgson's next game for England was against the Barbarians on 29 May 2010 however he was substituted in the first half due to a facial injury.[citation needed] Hodgson was included in Johnson's squad to tour Australia in June 2010, although he did not play in the Tests.[10]

Although not originally in England's squad for the 2010 autumn internationals, Hodgson was called up as cover after Wilkinson suffered a shoulder injury.[10] In England's 21–11 defeat to South Africa Hodgson sustained what was thought to be a bruised foot;[11] however, it was later discovered that the suspected bruise was a broken foot. In June 2012, Hodgson announced his retirement from international Rugby.[12]

International tries

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Try[13] Opposing team Location Venue Competition Date Result Score
1  Romania London, England Twickenham Stadium 2001 end-of-year rugby union internationals 17 November 2001 Win 134 – 0
2
3  Canada London, England Twickenham Stadium 2004 end-of-year rugby union internationals 13 November 2004 Win 70 – 0
4  South Africa London, England Twickenham Stadium 2004 end-of-year rugby union internationals 20 November 2004 Win 32 – 16
5  Samoa London, England Twickenham Stadium 2005 end-of-year rugby union internationals 26 November 2005 Win 40 – 3
6  Italy Rome, Italy Stadio Flaminio 2006 Six Nations Championship 11 February 2006 Win 16 – 31
7  Scotland Edinburgh, Scotland Murrayfield Stadium 2012 Six Nations Championship 4 February 2012 Win 6 – 13
8  Italy Rome, Italy Stadio Olimpico 2012 Six Nations Championship 11 February 2012 Win 15 – 19

Club career

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Hodgson first played for Sale Sharks against French club Auch in 2000. Sale Sharks is where Hodgson has seen his greatest success in winning the 2005/06 Guinness Premiership in a dominant victory over Leicester Tigers at Twickenham. In the final he contributed 6 penalties, a conversion and a drop goal.[14] Hodgson has been voted Sale Sharks player of the season three times: 2008, 2009, and 2010.[15]

In an attempt to correct a long-standing shoulder problem, Hodgson underwent surgery in August 2010. Although he missed the start of the 2010/11 season, he recovered to take his place in Sale's team in September.[16] He returned from injury on 2 January 2011, taking part in Sale's 28–22 win against Saracens.[17][18]

Just over a week later, Hodgson signed a three-year contract with Saracens, stating that he wanted a "new challenge". Sale's chief executive, Mick Hogan, paid tribute to Hodgson, saying that "Without doubt, he will be considered among the greatest players to ever play for Sale Sharks".[19] Towards the end of the seasons, in April, Hodgson scored his 1,000th point at Edgeley Park. He passed the landmark in a match against Gloucester; Hodgson assumed the role of captain for the game and victory helped Sale avoid relegation.[20] During his time at Saracens he won two Premiership titles in 2015 and 2016, as a replacement in both finals.[21][22] He also helped Saracens win the European Champions Cup in 2016, again as a replacement in the final.[23] In 2016, Hodgson Announced his retirement from rugby union.

Private life

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On 23 June 2007, Hodgson married Daisy Hartley at Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire. The couple have five children.[24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "RFU Official Site of the RFU, Governing Body of Rugby Union in England". Rugby Football Union. Archived from the original on 22 June 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  2. ^ Griffiths, John (27 September 2010). "Two Tests in the same day, the longest tour, England No.10s and South Africa's Highveld record". scrum.com. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  3. ^ Cleary, Mick (22 December 2007). "Charlie Hodgson wants another England try". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  4. ^ "From school to country". Bradford Grammar School. Archived from the original on 5 September 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  5. ^ "Torn ACL".[dead link‍]
  6. ^ "Hodgson & Sheridan out for season". BBC Sport. 20 November 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  7. ^ "Vainikolo named in England squad". BBC. 9 January 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2008.
  8. ^ "England to Fast Track Vainikolo". Sportinglife. 9 January 2008. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2008.
  9. ^ a b "Charlie Hodgson and David Strettle back for England". BBC Sport. 26 May 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  10. ^ a b "England call up Hodgson for injured Jonny Wilkinson". BBC Sport. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  11. ^ "Croft suffers injury blow". scrum.com. 28 November 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  12. ^ "Charlie Hodgson and Lee Mears announce England retirement". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  13. ^ "Charles Christopher Hodgson". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  14. ^ "Sale 45-20 Leicester". BBC. 27 May 2006. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  15. ^ "Awards Dinner – The Hall of Fame". Sale Sharks. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  16. ^ "Hodgson's timely return boosts Sale". scrum.com. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  17. ^ "Anglesea hopes Sale Sharks can find their bite". Manchester Evening News. 31 December 2010. Archived from the original on 3 January 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  18. ^ "Sale 28–22 Saracens". BBC Sport. 2 January 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  19. ^ "Charlie Hodgson to leave Sale Sharks for Saracens". BBC Sport. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  20. ^ "Sale 36–31 Gloucester". BBC Sport. 8 April 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  21. ^ "Premiership final: Bath 16-28 Saracens". BBC. 30 May 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  22. ^ "Premiership final: Saracens 28-20 Exeter Chiefs". BBC. 28 May 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  23. ^ "Saracens beat Racing 92 to win first European Champions Cup". BBC. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  24. ^ "Bio". CharlieHodgson.com. Archived from the original on 14 June 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
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