Yeh it really highlighted his skill set to come into a position not played in all season and excel at test level. I agree we probably don’t appreciate how hard it is to be a utility player not playing in one position and acknowledge offers lot of value as utility player / bench option.It’s hard to imagine Hodge outside the 23 other than injury. He is a lock in the 23 for me and it is about time we understood his flexibility to be a serious tool.
I’m going to go against the grain a bit here.. I dont think Hodge actually played that good as a 5/8 last night.
What he did do well was defend his channel and tackle well, which was a massive difference from last week, but as far as everything else goes for been a 5/8 he really had little involvement. That very well mighty have been part of the game plan, and credit to them because it worked. But I certainly dont think last nights match is a measure of Hodges ability to play 5/8, since he did very little of it.
For all the credit been directed towards Hodge, i personally think that should be directed at the forwards.. the game was won on the back of the forward pack and the go forward they provided, Hodge was merely a beneficiary of this.
I’m going to go against the grain a bit here.. I dont think Hodge actually played that good as a 5/8 last night.
What he did do well was defend his channel and tackle well, which was a massive difference from last week, but as far as everything else goes for been a 5/8 he really had little involvement. That very well mighty have been part of the game plan, and credit to them because it worked. But I certainly dont think last nights match is a measure of Hodges ability to play 5/8, since he did very little of it.
For all the credit been directed towards Hodge, i personally think that should be directed at the forwards.. the game was won on the back of the forward pack and the go forward they provided, Hodge was merely a beneficiary of this.
On a second viewing, gee I was impressed by some of the work that BPA did.
I’m going to go against the grain a bit here.. I dont think Hodge actually played that good as a 5/8 last night.
What he did do well was defend his channel and tackle well, which was a massive difference from last week, but as far as everything else goes for been a 5/8 he really had little involvement. That very well mighty have been part of the game plan, and credit to them because it worked. But I certainly dont think last nights match is a measure of Hodges ability to play 5/8, since he did very little of it.
For all the credit been directed towards Hodge, i personally think that should be directed at the forwards.. the game was won on the back of the forward pack and the go forward they provided, Hodge was merely a beneficiary of this.
I think you missed the chip kick in the first 2mins that led to a try. He also made some solid runs and nice clearance kicks. The only thing missing from a 5/8 performance for me was more distributing. But it wasn't really the game for it.
I think you are harsh judge he kicked well - set up first try, defended well and provided good distribution to outside backs. Maybe I missed something.
Reflecting on the way we played last night, I think we might have started to see the brutality that Rennie talked about when he took over as coach. With the injuries we have and players overseas and not available, a simple up the guts game isn't a bad idea. Getting the set piece right, defence better aligned and bodies in motion over the gain line at least keeps you in the contest, as well as not kicking the fucking ball away all the time. I think for now just focusing on getting the physicality and the fundamentals right is enough. Don't try any sparkling basketball rugby, just run straight and hard, play in the right part of the pitch. There were some signs in Wellington that the team is focused on laying some shots on in defence and I'm happy with that, but obviously not getting penalised or carded.
I was also thinking about Hunter. This might sound silly, but to me he looked like a classic compact Kiwi 2nd-5 last night, a la an Alatini or Clarke (Eroni) - especially his foot work. With Jordie beside him that's not a bad combo to persist with for the time being - just to see if it's the kind of midfield that could develop into something good. With JOC (James O'Connor) and MT not available right now we might as well. The wings looked terrific too. Let's keep that together.
I guess following your line of thinking, do we really need a distributing 10? I’d say in a year or two we will have close to one of the most dominant packs in the world, Tate is coming along nicely as a distributor, I’m not totally opposed to our 10 being predominantly there for defence and hard running, at least for another few years while the young 10’s develop
Hard to say, last night may be the exception to the norm given the red cards, I think that really loosened play up around the ruck and allowed more forward runs. If we weren’t getting that front foot advantage we may bemoan the lack of distribution and creativity from fly-half.
Its a good point. His distribution wasn't needed but a solid distributing 10 is likely needed going forward. Which is why I think Hodge's best position is at 12, he a big body, hard defender, can crash ball and has short distribution game and kicking game to be your secondary playmaker.
Its a good point. His distribution wasn't needed but a solid distributing 10 is likely needed going forward. Which is why I think Hodge's best position is at 12, he a big body, hard defender, can crash ball and has short distribution game and kicking game to be your secondary playmaker.