Rugby World Cup 2019: Reece Hodge back in Wallabies selection frame after serving three-match ban
Back in selection contention after serving his ban, Reece Hodge knows he has to throw himself into some ‘really tough tussles at training’ to be any hope of securing a quarter-final berth against England.
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Reece Hodge admits he faces a nervous wait to discover if his reckless-tackle ban has cost him a prized quarter-final spot at the Rugby World Cup even now it’s finished.
Coach Michael Cheika has indicated that chances grabbed by other players and Hodge not playing for three games has complicated a competitive wing choice for the Wallabies.
Hodge’s big boot, reliability and punch bobbing up in set plays would all appear tiebreakers in his favour heading into the must-win cauldron against England in Oita on Saturday.
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The Wallabies can get stuck into training under clear skies at their Odawara base, outside Tokyo, now the the Saturday fury of Typhoon Hagibis has tracked north and left behind its trail of death, flooding, landslides and transport chaos.
Five-eighth Bernard Foley will miss a quarter-final spot but he hit the mark perfectly with his karaoke rendition of AC/DC’s You Shook Me All Night Long when many less refined vocal cords were let loose during the team’s lock-in.
While Kurtley Beale is expected to be fit after a head knock, a delayed start to this vital training week may dictate super-sub duties among the finishers who have been a constant positive during the tournament.
Hodge is taking nothing for granted and nor should he because a gambling coach might consider the X-factor of strapping young gun Jordan Petaia even after just two halves as a Test winger.
“No spot is ever guaranteed,” Hodge said.
“The first couple of days after the (ban) decision were pretty tough but there was no point trying to fret so I really tried to throw myself into helping prepare the guys around me.
“I’m looking forward to another week of really tough tussles at training and see what happens come the weekend because the guys who were in the back three positions over the last three games have played really well.”
The Hodge case was the precedent for a game-changing blitz on high, dangerous or head-glancing jolts at the World Cup which Irish great-turned-TV pundit Brian O’Driscoll distilled as “the big hit is gone.”
Hodge didn’t believe he needed radical surgery on tackling technique when the net caught Samoan hooker Seilala Lam for a yellow card for a strong front-on shot on dipping Irish winger Jacob Stockdale on Saturday.
“My kind of tackling in the wide channels is always in the low knee-to-hip kind of region and I learnt my lesson that it is going to be quite harsh if you stray,” Hodge said.
Veteran prop James Slipper shared in tight, winning Cup quarter-finals in 2011 and 2015 and said the zealous work put in on scrums, lineouts and mauling all year was the key to another on Saturday.
“Obviously it’s another game of rugby but what comes with that is a lot of pressure because it’s quite a grand final week for both teams,” Slipper said.
“My advice to any young bloke playing in the finals is just go back to what you do in training, enjoy the moment and don’t get overwhelmed by the occasion.”
Slipper is certain he has more chance of winning any scrummaging battle against England than a sing-off.
“The lock-in (with the typhoon) was actually quite enjoyable. We spent time with each other, Bernard Foley was pretty good at karaoke and I was pretty average with Kings of Leon (lyrics) so I’m not going to do it again,” Slipper said.
The Wallabies spent time on Sunday reconnecting with their families.
Stalwart 100-Test lock Rob Simmons was on the team bus out of Shizuoka after the rain-swept Georgia game last Friday night while wife Lucy and toddler son Billy hunkered down in a city hotel that night.
Originally published as Rugby World Cup 2019: Reece Hodge back in Wallabies selection frame after serving three-match ban