Matt Hodgson, born (1981-06-25)25 June 1981 in NSW, Australia, is an Australian professional rugby union player for the Wallabies and Super Rugby team the Western Force. Hodgson was made Club Captain of the Western Force on 2 August 2012, and became the first Western Force player to play 100 caps for the club. Hodgson captained the Western Force in their most successful season, 2014 Super Rugby season, in the clubs history with 8 wins in a season. His leadership and form in that season saw him receive a re-call to the Wallabies set-up for the test series against France.
Hodgson began his rugby career with his local team the Avoca Sharks in the NSW Central Coast town of Avoca Beach. At age 17, Hodgson was drafted by the New South Wales Waratahs as a flyhalf/centre and was redeveloped as a loose forward. However, he did not receive any Super Rugby caps for the franchise in that season, which saw him leave the club to represent armature clubs to develop into a full-time flanker. While training with the Waratahs, Hodgson played for Sydney Club Rugby teams Eastwood Rugby Club (1999–2003) and Manly RUFC (2004–05). His form as a flanker, saw Hodgson receive a call up into the Australian under-21's team for the 2002 Under 21 Rugby World Championship. He started in the number 7 jersey in the grand final against South Africa under-21, who were the winning side 24-21 in Johannesburg. He was part of the Eastwood Rugby Club winning side in the 2002 Shute Shield, where he was named man-of-the match in the 19-15 win over Sydney University.
In 2005, Hodgson was a member of the Australian sevens side that finished seventh in the 2004–05 World Sevens Series. In addition to this, he got his first taste of international rugby, playing for the Australian A side against the Junior All Blacks in Canberra. Further more, Hodgson signed with the Western Force, for their inaugural season of Super Rugby. He made his super rugby debut at home, Subiaco Oval, against the Brumbies who were the victors in that match 25-10. At the end of his debut season with the Force, he was awarded the inaugural presentation of the 2006 Force Man award – a recognition given to the player deemed to best represent the club's values in all that they do both on and off the field. This award was again won by Hodgson in 2007, 2009 and in 2010.