|
Simon Hodgkinson would have been the first to admit that he was no JPR Williams or Andy Irvine, but the Nottingham fullback was a key component in England's rise to supremacy in the early nineties, averaging 14.5 points per game in his 14 matches. Indeed, Simon's metronomic accuracy with the boot ensured that England could always convert their forward dominance into points, especially when this became the favoured gameplan in 1991. The key to Simon's success was a remarkably simple technique that never faltered under pressure and comparisons could be made with the no frills serving style of tennis star Goran Ivaniesevic (though carried out at much slower speed!). Simon would place the ball, take three backward and one sideways step, and after brief hesitation canter forward with a very casual looking swing of the boot. It was enormously effective and a style that Hodgkinson compared with that of Dusty Hare. His introduction to the international scene was borne out of the low success rate of regular place kickers, Rob Andrew and Jonathan Webb, in the 1989 Five Nations when lost points at crucial times cost England the Championship. Simon first appeared against Romania in 1989 and he showed what he could do by scoring eight conversions and a penalty in a 58-3 victory. This performance earned him selection ahead of Webb in the 1990 Five Nations Championship, though his kicking was generally only needed for conversions as England preferred to win with ball in hand.
However, England were beaten 13-7 in the Grand Slam decider at Murrayfield, prompting a change in game plan for the following season. Before that, Simon was one of the few England players to perform on tour in Argentina in the summer and scored 26 points in two tests, including his only try. In the autumn Hodgkinson helped put the same team to the sword at Twickenham by scoring 23 out of 51 points, thus breaking Dan Lambert's individual scoring record from 1924. The first real test of England's new found resolve was to come in January 1991 when they began their Five Nations campaign by attempting to win in Wales for the first time since 1963. Simon would later recall of the match: "That game in Cardiff is the most vivid memory that I have of the Five Nations. The team walked from the hotel to the ground in a display of unity, and nobody said a word. Then Richard Hill went ballistic in the changing room - we had to keep calming him down. None of us went onto the pitch beforehand to warm up. It was the most intense I have ever felt before a match." Despite the fraught atmosphere, Simon kept his nerve to stroke home seven penalties, setting a record that would last until 2000 when broken by Jonny Wilkinson against South Africa.
Using much the same tactics, England followed up their Cardiff triumph with victories over Scotland, Ireland and France to win a first Grand Slam since 1980. Simon's kicking again proved crucial in the decider against France at Twickenham, though ironically it was his missed pot at goal that started off the move which ended in Phillipe Saint-Andre's lendendary length of the field try. That setback aside, England won 21-19, with Hodgkinson netting a personal tally of 17, bringing him up to 60 points for the series, another record. However, despite Simon's fine performances, the England management decided that Jon Webb's superior attacking prowess was needed in the World Cup, and the Nottingham man sat out virtually the entire tournament. Simon's last England appearance came in a win over the USA in the group stages, and after the tournament he retired from the international scene to concentrate on his medical career. In total Simon scored 203 points in test matches, and was only on the losing side twice in 14 appearances. (Jon Collins)
|