Western Force captain Matt Hodgson has been chosen in the 32-man Wallabies squad for the 2014 Rugby Championship.
The squad, minus those players participating in the Super Rugby Final, will assemble on Sunday August 3 to begin the Qantas Wallabies’ week-long Bush2Bledisloe regional road trip across Dubbo, Orange, Bathurst and Penrith.
Members of the Qantas Wallabies squad taking part in the Super Rugby Final will join the team in Bathurst on Wednesday 6 August.
Part of The Fordham Company management stable for all of his senior rugby career, Hodgson was a member of the Wallabies squad for the recent three match Test series against France.
His continued recognition by Wallabies head coach Ewen McKenzie has resulted from his outstanding form in the 2014 Super Rugby competition.
As the Western Force skipper, Hodgson led the side to its finest ever performance in Super Rugby, winning a record nine games to seriously challenge for a semi-final berth.
The Wallabies squad, captained by open-side flanker Michael Hooper, boasts a combined total of 781 Test appearances and includes players from all five Super Rugby provinces – NSW Waratahs (11), ACT Brumbies (11), Queensland Reds (4), Western Force (4) and the Melbourne Rebels (2).
The Qantas Wallabies squad for the 2014 Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship is:
Player |
State |
Age |
Test Caps |
PROP |
|||
Ben Alexander |
ACT Brumbies |
29 |
62 |
Pek Cowan |
Western Force |
28 |
7 |
Sekope Kepu |
NSW Waratahs |
28 |
41 |
Scott Sio |
ACT Brumbies |
22 |
5 |
James Slipper |
Queensland Reds |
25 |
52 |
HOOKER |
|||
Nathan Charles |
Western Force |
25 |
2 |
James Hanson |
Queensland Reds |
25 |
1 |
Tatafu Polota-Nau |
NSW Waratahs |
28 |
49 |
LOCK |
|||
Sam Carter |
ACT Brumbies |
24 |
1 |
James Horwill |
Queensland Reds |
29 |
51 |
Rob Simmons |
Queensland Reds |
25 |
40 |
Will Skelton |
NSW Waratahs |
22 |
1 |
BACKROW |
|||
Scott Fardy |
ACT Brumbies |
30 |
13 |
Scott Higginbotham |
Melbourne Rebels |
27 |
24 |
Matt Hodgson |
Western Force |
33 |
6 |
Michael Hooper (c) |
NSW Waratahs |
22 |
31 |
Ben McCalman |
Western Force |
26 |
32 |
Wycliff Palu |
NSW Waratahs |
31 |
51 |
SCRUMHALF |
|||
Luke Burgess |
Melbourne Rebels |
30 |
37 |
Nick Phipps |
NSW Waratahs |
25 |
17 |
Nic White |
ACT Brumbies |
24 |
13 |
FLYHALF |
|||
Kurtley Beale |
NSW Waratahs |
25 |
42 |
Bernard Foley |
NSW Waratahs |
24 |
7 |
CENTRE |
|||
Tevita Kuridrani |
ACT Brumbies |
23 |
11 |
Christian Leali’ifano |
ACT Brumbies |
26 |
13 |
Matt Toomua |
ACT Brumbies |
24 |
13 |
BACK-THREE |
|||
Adam Ashley-Cooper |
NSW Waratahs |
30 |
94 |
Henry Speight |
ACT Brumbies |
26 |
Uncapped |
Israel Folau |
NSW Waratahs |
25 |
18 |
Rob Horne |
NSW Waratahs |
24 |
16 |
Pat McCabe |
ACT Brumbies |
26 |
22 |
Joe Tomane |
ACT Brumbies |
24 |
9 |
Matt Hodgson is exclusively managed by The Fordham Company.