Rugby prodigy tipped for England duty a target for Exeter
Newcastle Falcons back three prospect Josh Hodge was one of the stars of England’s U20 campaign last season and is featuring again prominently this campaign, something which seems to have piqued the interest of Gallagher Premiership side Exeter Chiefs.
Exeter sit top of the Premiership table currently and are fine-tuning their already formidable side for another assault on domestic and European honours in the 2020/21 season. With Saracens set to be relegated to the Greene King IPA Championship at the end of this season, the Devon-based side’s biggest obstacle to success in recent years has been removed.
Rob Baxter strengthened the club with the addition of Stuart Hogg last year and has been proactive in his recruitment of highly-talented Wales U18 second row Christ Tshiunza, with the Whitchurch High School product, who has featured for Exeter’s U18 side this season, set to join in the summer.
A division below Exeter and Newcastle look strong favourites to return to the Premiership at the first time of asking, with the side from the north-east currently sitting 12 points above second-placed Ealing Trailfinders. Their likely return to the Premiership will not necessarily be enough to see them keep hold of one of their top young talents, however, as RugbyPass understand that Hodge is nearing close to a move to Exeter for next season.
With Hogg an incumbent in the Scotland side, the veteran full-back misses two large chunks of Exeter’s season as he is consistently involved in the Guinness Six Nations and the November Internationals, not to mention a likely touring member with the British and Irish Lions next year, and Hodge would give Baxter an exciting and versatile back three talent who can learn from and deputise for Hogg when necessary.
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Hodge’s potential and talent were recently rewarded when England head coach Eddie Jones called him up to the senior squad as an apprentice for the opening fixture against France and though playing time would be harder to come by at Exeter than it is at Newcastle, it’s a move that few players in English club rugby would turn down. It would also unite Hodge with probable future England teammates Jack Nowell, Henry Slade and Luke Cowan-Dickie, among others.
Aggressive recruitment of young stars seems to be on the up in English rugby, with Cameron Redpath recently having been bought out of his Sale Sharks contract by Bath, and Worcester Warriors pair Ollie Lawrence and Ted Hill earning lucrative new deals in the West Midlands to ward off particularly keen interest from rival clubs. There are multiple senior academy players also on the radar of clubs wishing to bite the bullet and pay the compensation required to get them out of their current deals.
If Exeter do complete the signing of Hodge, it will be a savvy move from the table-topping side, who have contracted far more extensively in the forward pack from their junior academy of late and the Newcastle flyer could add some x-factor to a back line group that are going to need to replace the veteran trio of Gareth Steenson, Phil Dollman and Ian Whitten in the coming seasons.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Bar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
9 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
35 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
35 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
35 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
35 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
35 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
35 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
35 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
18 Go to comments