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The speed guru taking Wallabies star Reece Hodge's game to the next level

By AAP
(Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

Reece Hodge is looking to learn some secrets of the Flying Fijians after linking with their former strength and conditioning guru John Pryor, who has come on board with the Wallabies.

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Feedback post 2019 World Cup to the Melbourne Rebels outside back, who has played 37 Tests, was that he needed to improve his speed and agility.

So Hodge has been using Super Rugby’s coronavirus shutdown to work on his technique with Pryor while at home in Sydney.

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“A lot of my feedback from both the Rebels coaches and the new Wallabies coaching staff was that one of my work-ons was speed, power and agility,” Hodge told AAP.

“I got a couple of track sessions in; a few sessions with spikes.

“I was working with Johnny Pryor, who is a specialist speed and agility coach who was with Fiji at the World Cup and has been with (current England coach) Eddie Jones quite a bit in the past.”

Pryor has a long history in rugby, previously working with the Wallabies from 2004-07 as well as the Brumbies, Waratahs, Japan’s national side, Japanese club Suntory under Eddie Jones, and then Fiji at last year’s World Cup.

With the Fijians he trained three Olympic gold medallists from their sevens program as well as explosive former Parramatta Eels player Semi Radradra.

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“He’s a pretty awesome operator and I got a fair bit out of the sessions with him so it was a highlight for me to have a chance for a lot of one-on-one sessions which you don’t usually get,” Hodge said.

“It’s yet to be seen whether my times have actually improved but I definitely feel like I’ve got the foundations now to build on that over this next six-week block.”

The Rebels and other Super Rugby sides are hopeful of being able to train in groups above 10 from Monday and then take up contact work as they move closer to a July 3 competition re-boot.

Rugby Australia are yet to release a draw for the new-look domestic competition that will replace Super Rugby with international borders remaining closed.

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“Once we get that it will be something to work toward but we’re all just grateful to be back at training,” Hodge said.

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Jon 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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