Josh Hodgson is likely to escape with only having to pay for the damage to a door he crashed through at a party in Dunedin on Saturday night as England were eliminated from the Four Nations.
The despair of Steve McNamara’s men at losing 16-14 to New Zealand and then watching as Australia eliminated them by beating Samoa 44-18 on Sunday, deepened when a video of the England hooker’s prank went viral on YouTube.
Hodgson said to his new club for 2015, Canberra Raiders, that he was told by the owners of a student flat, where he was an invited guest, that the door was being replaced the next day and he could do as he wished to it.
“We apologise for the behaviour and have arranged for the repair of the small amount of damage,” said the England team manager, Jon Roberts, who added that players had permission to go out on the night in question. It was later confirmed that Hodgson, 25, would pay for the damage. No figure was made public.
The Hull KR hooker legally became an NRL player at the beginning of the month and that league’s integrity unit therefore has jurisdiction over the incident. An NRL spokesman said the matter would be left to Canberra for the time being but the integrity unit has the power to intervene if it deems a club’s actions inappropriate.
Don Furner, the chief executive of the Raiders, said: “Josh has said that he is embarrassed by what he has done and he will be spoken to further when he arrives at club headquarters because that sort of behaviour is unacceptable at the Raiders.”
While Hodgson heads to Australia’s capital, many of his team-mates begin the journey back to England on Monday, having again failed to make a major final. Australia will play New Zealand in the decider at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium on Saturday night in a rematch of the World Cup final.
After England struggled to overcome Samoa 32-26 in their opening game in Brisbane, the winger Ryan Hall was denied a try on the bell during a 16-12 defeat by Australia in Melbourne and the stand-off Gareth Widdop twice hit the woodwork with conversion attempts in Saturday’s loss at the Forsyth Barr Stadium.
The results have prompted speculation about the future of McNamara, who was reappointed at the start of the year for an undisclosed term, after taking up an assistant’s post at the Sydney Roosters.
However, the Australia captain, Cameron Smith, and the coach, Tim Sheens, say significant success for England is imminent and that McNamara is the right man to oversee it. “He’s done some great things over a few years,” Smith, the Melbourne hooker, said. “Their wins will come if they keep working hard and keep doing what they’re doing. I’m sure some silverware will come their way soon. They were leading against us for most of the game and they were right in the match against New Zealand.
“Their depth is stronger than it ever has been. They had an ageing squad there for a while but they’ve got some fresh faces now who are playing great footy. Although they finished third once again this year they can be pretty proud of their efforts.”
Sheens said England seemed to have found an effective halves combination in Widdop and Matty Smith and that he had seen technical improvements, which he attributed to McNamara’s club role. “I thought England were good. They were well-structured. Obviously, they would have loved to have Sam Burgess playing but their forwards were good. The backs have some new faces, too. Matty Smith, it’s his first tour. He’ll be better for it.
“The Burgess boys are young, they’ve got the makings of a good side. I’m very impressed with what Steve’s done with them and I think his year in the NRL with the Roosters hasn’t hurt that. It’s given him a great insight into what happens over here and the players he’s coaching against because he’s watching them.
“Unfortunately, for all of us it’s about performance but I don’t think England have let anybody down. They’ll be disappointed in some calls but so will Samoa, so will we.”
