Hodnett latest tyro to emerge from west Cork
Daire Walsh
Following in the footsteps of Munster senior stars Fineen Wycherley and Gavin Coombes, John Hodnett is latest player from West Cork to make his mark with the Ireland U20s.
Despite its reputation as a GAA stronghold, this particular area of the Leeside County has gained an appreciation for the oval ball-game in recent years.
The Clonakilty man – who will feature alongside Wycherley’s young brother Josh in tomorrow’s Six Nations encounter against Scotland at Netherdale (7.30pm) – juggled both sports during his youth, before opting to concentrate full-time on rugby.
“I started maybe when I was six or eight down in Clonakilty. I played GAA all the way up until U18. I played a bit with their juniors as well when I was in sixth year. I was in Mount Saint Michael’s. It’s a GAA majority school, so I came up playing a lot of GAA when I was younger,” Hodnett said.
“I always liked rugby, but I came from a GAA town so it’s what I played. All my friends played. I didn’t play a whole lot of rugby probably until I was 16 or 17, when I go into the Munster U18 clubs. It kinda took on from there really.”
Like all the Munster-based players in the side, the competition’s opening round victory over England at Musgrave Park was extra special for Hodnett. It was unlike anything he had witnessed in the past and believes it played a significant role in the team’s performance on the night.
“The crowd was unbelievable. I have never experienced anything like that before. I am used to playing in front of maybe 50 people. There were 4,500 there or whatever. It was class. I was happy enough with the way I played, things went my way,” Hodnett acknowledged.
“But at the end of day, it was a huge team performance. Everyone on the team was unbelievable. I had a nice few carries but everyone else on the team put me in the position to make those carries. Everyone is out trying to make their mark in every training session to put their hand up for selection.”
Ireland’s strength in depth is set to be severely tested tomorrow evening, with vice-captain Craig Casey (knee) and replacement prop Ryan Lomas ruled out through injury. Casey’s place at scrum-half will be taken by Cormac Foley of Leinster, while the uncapped duo of Colm Reilly and Luke Masters have been drafted to the bench.
IRELAND: J Flannery; C Phillips, L Turner, D Hawkshaw, J Wren; H Byrne, C Foley; J Wycherley, D Tierney-Martin, T Clarkson; C Ryan, N Murray; M Moloney, S Penny, J Hodnett.
Replacements: J McKee, M Milne, L Masters, B Deeny, D McCann, C Reilly, S French, R Russell.