Jehoida Hodges
Joseph Jehoida Hodges (15 July 1876 – 13 September 1930) was a Welsh international rugby union player. He was a member of the winning Welsh team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks in the famous Match of the Century. He played club rugby for London Welsh and Newport RFC.
Hodges in Newport jersey | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth name | Joseph Jehoida Hodges | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 15 July 1876 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Risca, Monmouthshire, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 13 September 1930 (aged 54) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Waunlwyd, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 13 st (182 lb; 83 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | miner publican | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hodges, along with fellow Welsh internationals George Boots, and later George Travers is recognised with adopting forward formation play in scrums and line outs. Although forwards were responsible for these areas of play, there was little defined tactics or specialisation before the early twentieth century. Hodges helped bring tactical formations and therefore a level of specialisation to forward play. He was described as a hard working and an excellent all-round player who could fill in at most positions, even on the wing.