The 23-year-old had made a barnstorming start to the season with the Devon club, helping them to secure a place in the last four of the Premiership Rugby Cup, as well as scoring a hat-trick of tries in Exeter’s Premiership thumping of Saracens 65-10.
A week later, though, disaster struck for the gifted full-back as he was forced from the field at Harlequins with a dislocated elbow.
Faced with the prospect of being potentially sidelined for up to five months, it was rotten luck for the Lancaster-born back who was clearly blossoming in the Chiefs anchor role following the summer retirement of Stuart Hogg.
Hodge, however, is a fiercely determined character and despite the prognosis and the subsequent surgery that followed, he left no stone unturned in terms of his rehab programme, returning to action quicker than anticipated at the end of last month.
Esta historia es de la edición February 11, 2024 de The Rugby Paper.
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Harrow keep their nerve for double joy
HARROW saw off QEGS Wakefield to defend their Continental Tyres National School Cup title in emphatic fashion at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
Wales all washed up with nowhere to go...
Every living English Grand Slam captain, from Sir Bill Beaumont to Dylan Hartley via Will Carling and Martin Johnson, shares another common denominator. They all know what it’s like to be blown away in the cyclonic fury of Cardiff on big-match day.
Lynn's hoping for fantastic farewell
GLOUCESTER-Hartpury have the chance to send boss Sean Lynn off with a perfect farewell as they chase an unprecedented hat-trick of consecutive titles.
Red Roses want to make it seven in a row - Mitchell
ENGLAND head coach John Mitchell has had to prepare for his title defence without players in the PWR final.
Lions' support team keeps on growing
The 1974 Lions took off from Heathrow with a management team of two. No specialist coaches, no analysts, no spin doctors, no physios, not even a bucket-and-sponge man.
Chiefs are too good for Blues in thriller
In a repeat of last season’s final, the Chiefs beat the Blues in a thriller to go top and continue the champions’ nightmare title defence.
Battling Italy make it tough for Ireland
ITALY, despite a succession of serious injuries and self-inflicted disciplinary problems, pushed Ireland all the way at the Olympic Stadium in a game that summed up both their respective campaigns.
Nice are planning a quick reversal
You may not have heard of Stade Marcel Volot – the one-stand 3,000-capacity home of ProD2 basement side Nice, which sits next to the Var river up the road from the rather larger and better-known Allianz Riviera home of the city’s Ligue 1 football team.
France in seventh heaven
FRANCE overcame a spirited Scotland display in a breathless finale in Paris to secure a record-equalling seventh Six Nations title – drawing level with England – and their first since 2022.
Time to talk about the 1995 you-know-what
It’s ODD how some Grand Slams get lost in the mists of time, seemingly never to be mentioned again. Take England in 1995. Thirty years ago this weekend Will Carling’s team were closing out their third Slam in five years with a 24-12 victory over Scotland at Twickenham with Rob Andrew kicking seven penalties and a dropped goal for the men in white.
