Premiership hot-shot Josh Hodge: 'I thrive under pressure’

To some, seeing Josh Hodge’s name at the top of the Premiership’s goalkickers charts may come as a surprise. His 89% success rate, after striking eight from nine, puts the former Sedburgh pupil ahead of more celebrated kickers.

Up until now, the bulked-up full-back, with the sweetest of left feet, had barely had a chance in front of goal, kicking very infrequently at Newcastle and his current club Exeter.

But Henry Slade’s shoulder injury has opened the door for Hodge to show off his prodigious boot, one that followers of England U20s will know only too well. At the 2019 World Rugby U20 Championships Hodge kicked all 24 chances that came his way to finish as the tournament’s top points-scorer, with 62 points.

This Josh Hodge hot-streak right now 🔥#GallagherPrem | #SARvEXE pic.twitter.com/FBaW1VV4fa

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Hodge kicked the ball through the poles from all corners of those Argentinean pitches, but his aptitude for kicking was first discovered in the back garden of the family home in Kirkby Lonsdale, North Yorkshire.

Whereas Dan Carter famously had goal posts built for him by his old man on the family farm when he was growing up, Hodge’s dad used to use his arms as imaginary uprights.

“Way back, when I was 11 years old, my dad would stand about 40 metres into the field and I wasn’t allow to go in for dinner until I had 10 balls on his head, and that would be it. He used to stand there with his arms above his head to make the target smaller,” he revealed.

“There are times when I have thought, ‘this is rubbish, I am going to change my routine’ and dad has rung me up and said, ‘what are you doing there? Go back to what you are used to’ So I have stuck with that routine since I started kicking with my Dad, trying to get a scholarship at Sedburgh.”

Whilst Exeter’s season hasn’t started as planned, the Chiefs losing their first three games for the first time since they were promoted to the Premiership in 2010, Hodge’s goal-kicking form has been a big plus.

When he lines up for his first attempt at goal against Bristol today, in Hodge’s mind he might as well be back in his parents’ garden, not in front of a big Sandy Park crowd, because his focus is purely on technique.

“I love it, I have always done kicking in practice. I have kept that alive since my U20 days, when I was a kicker, I like being in that moment, it is a good focus for me to almost stay in the game, have an action and always be called upon.

“So yeah, I enjoy it and I feel like I thrive in those situations and I can really hone down on my skills and do my thing. I like pressure.

“You kind of practice a routine during the week where you know that if you do it correctly on the game day the ball is going to be released just as well as it was in training. So you kind of switch off. You don’t really realise that there’s 12,000 people there, it’s just you, the ball and the posts.

“We’ve had some great kickers at the club with the likes of Joe Simmonds and Henry Slade but you have always got to keep that in your locker, you can never switch off one of your main skills off because you never know when you might need it. And with Henry being out the opportunity arose for me, and I want to take those opportunities.”

During pre-season the 24-year-old full-back took himself off to his mate’s hotel in the Scottish Highlands, in Ullapool, to pound the weights in the gym, go salmon fishing, and eat.

Hodge’s goal was to make himself more robust but without taking anything away from his searing pace.

“I am pretty fast, so it is going to be pretty tough to take the speed away from me. It just applies to the momentum that you generate from that speed; carrying that little bit of extra muscle mass is key, especially being in my position. Being under the high ball and being isolated quite a  lot, you have got to fight on your feet for a while and bide yourself some time for your team-mates to get to you.

“So I have been working in the pre-season to put on about five kilos, all lean as well. There was a lot of eating. In that off-season I took myself away to Scotland, kind of switched off really, hit the gym hard, and relaxed and ate loads of food. I think I was on about 5,000 calories a day. It was hard but it had to be done.”

Last season Hodge came back form an elbow injury to star for England A in February. He scored a try and excelled off the tee in a 91-5 demolition job, and would expect to be involved when England’s second string take on Australia A at the Twickenham Stoop next month.

Ultimately, though, Hodge has his sights set higher. “I have done that England A I have got my sights on the main England squad. I want to keep improving every day, to push on and to try and put myself in that category.”