Hodgman opens up about overcoming retirement fears to take gold jersey

Alex Hodgman has joked that his journey to the gold jersey was always destined, but the debutant admits his path to a second Test debut has not been smooth.

Hodgman became the first player in the professional era to play for both the All Blacks and the Wallabies after appearing as a substitute in the win over Georgia.

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He is only the fourth player in history to achieve this feat and the first since Owen Stephens in 1973.

“It’s great. It’s a pretty small group and I’m just blessed with great players and coaching staff around me,” he told reporters.

“It’s funny because my dad gave me and my brother Australian passports when we were newborns, so he thought, ‘one day this is going to work for you.’

“I just wanted to play as well as I could for the Reds and if something comes of it, something comes of it. I’m the kind of person who looks too far ahead and misses the moment in front of me, so I’ve taken a new approach this year and am living in the moment.”

Hodgman calls himself a ‘new school’ man and this is evident when he reflects on the setbacks he had to overcome to return to the international stage.

A serious shoulder injury in 2023 left Hodgman feeling his time was up before moving to Queensland.

“There have been a lot of tears… there were a lot of times last year, especially when I was injured with the Blues, when I considered retiring,” Hodgman admitted.

“My wife kind of got me through it, so she’s my rock. Without her, I wouldn’t be sitting in front of you right now.

“…I thought it was cool because during the warm-up I saw (the family) and once I connected with them it put a smile on my face and took away all the stress and anxiety of football.”

Hodgman has spent time in championship teams on both sides of the Tasman and recognises there is something special going on at the Wallabies.

“I didn’t want to overstep my boundaries, I wanted to feel the group and understand the culture, what it meant to be a Wallaby or a Red and then grow from there,” he said when he joined the group.

“I don’t have much to add, there’s a lot of good in it right now